m^i 


'f  •./ 


,1  : 


Reminiscences   of  a 
Sportsman 


By 


J.    Parker  Whitney 

Author  of  "  The  Silver  Mines  of  Colorado  "  ;  "  The  Reclamation  and 

Cultivation  of  Tidal  Overflowed  Lands  "  ;    "  Colonization  "; 

"The  Orange  and  its  Cultivation  in  California,"  etc. 


Forest  and  Stream  Publishing  Co. 

New  York 

igo6 


Copyright,  1906 

BY 

J.  PARKER  WHITNEY 


■ttbe  Unfclicrboclicc  ptesB,  Wcw  IPotli 


PREFACE 

OOME  time  ago  I  was  induced  at  the  request  of  a 
^  friend  who  had  charge  of  a  Sporting  Review  to 
write  some  articles  for  his  paper. 

These  were  continued  longer  than  I  had  originally 
contemplated,  and  I  give  them  with  some  additions  m 
this  volume. 

From  youth  I  have  been  very  fond  of  out -door  life, 
and  sports  of  all  kinds,  and  although  for  many  years 
engaged  extensively  in  business  affairs,  I  have  never 
failed  in  giving  way  for  these  pursuits.  Often  such 
indulgence  was  seemingly  to  m}^  disadvantage,  but 
after  half  a  century  of  gratification  in  this  respect,  I 
am  well  satisfied  in  believing  I  have  no  occasion  for 
regret,  for  one  cannot  be  deprived  of  enjoyments  once 
possessed.  I  may  add,  that  in  pursuit  of  adventure, 
I  have  gained  some  important  pecuniary  advantages 
from  opportunities  offering. 

The  material  in  this  volume  of  reminiscences  is 
given  in  the  order  as  first  contribvitcd,  and  not  classi- 
fied as  it  would  be  if  written  lately. 


281G82 


Reminiscences 

FISHING  has  been  my  predominating  pastime,  to 
which  I  have  given  more  time  and  attention  than 
to  any  other.  At  eight  years  of  age,  my  father  then 
being  a  resident  of  New  Orleans,  I  commenced  the 
gratification  of  this  taste  along  the  route  of  the  Pont- 
chartrain  canal  running  from  the  city  by  the  shell 
road  to  the  lake  of  the  same  name. 

I  well  remember  now,  after  many  years  have 
elapsed,  the  exciting  joy  I  felt  when  with  my  short 
rod  and  line  I  drew  forth  from  amid  the  tree  roots 
and  rushes  skirting  the  canal  the  small  perch  which 
I  afterward  fried  in  buttered  tins  by  the  kitchen  fire. 
They  tasted  good,  as  well  as  the  soft -shell  crabs 
which  I  netted  at  the  lake.  And  I  remember  how 
late  on  Saturday  afternoon,  after  school,  I  prolonged 
my  stay  at  the  canal  and  lake  until  darkness  came 
on  and  how  frightened  I  became  as  I  sped  my  way 
home  at  running  speed,  imagining  the  logs  and  roots 
by  the  canal  to  be  bears  or  alligators,  which  abounded 
in  the  neighboring  swamps. 

At  ten  years  of  age  I  accompanied  my  two  elder 
brothers  upon  a  bear-hunting  excursion  in  Texas, 
where  my  action  was  a  minor  part,  but  which  resulted 
in  the  capture  of  two. 

At  twelve  years  of  age  I  passed  the  summer 
near  my  birthplace  in  Massachusetts,  where  I  spent  the 


2  Reminiscences  of 

most  of  my  time  in  trout  and  pickerel  fishing.  The 
former  was  fairlj'  good,  and  the  latter  particularly 
so  over  the  many  ponds  in  the  vicinity,  and  I  trudged 
many  miles  for  constantly  alluring  prospects  at  more 
promising  ponds  at  a  distance,  when  my  results  were 
less  than  I  could  have  accomplished  nearer  home. 
Thus  ever  is  the  sportsman  beckoned  on  to  distant 
fields  by  the  ignis  fatmts  of  expectation,  and  too  often 
misled. 

I  remember  one  day,  although  I  fished  for  pickerel 
generally  with  a  skittering  bait  of  frog's  legs,  of  set- 
ting a  quantity  of  lines  off  the  dam  of  a  mill-pond 
in  the  deep  water,  bai  ted  with  live  minnows,  and 
making  a  great  catch.  I  employed  a  number  of  boys 
who  caught  bait  and  attended  the  lines,  using  quite 
a  number  of  winter  lines  belonging  to  my  uncle.  I 
paid  the  boys  in  fish,  but  had  so  many,  and  more  than 
could  be  eaten  at  home,  that,  with  the  boys,  I  lugged 
them  two  or  three  miles  to  a  neighboring  hotel  and  sold 
them  for  a  small  handful  of  silver,  which  I  was  not 
above  making  pocket-money  of,  and'  thought  at  the 
time  I  was  making  great  headway  in  finance.  This 
success  inspired  so  much  attention  toward  the  pond 
that  it  soon  became  depleted  of  its  precious  holding. 

I  noted  in  later  years,  when  visiting  the  trotit  brooks 
I  fished  that  summer  with  tolerable  success,  that 
these  brooks  had  dwindled  away  in  volume  and  life, 
owing  to  the  denudation  of  the  forests,  a  result  which 
is  now  clearly  evident  with  many  New  England  brooks, 
and  which  is  shown  on  a  larger  scale  in  many  countries 
and  particularly  in  Spain  in  the  country  about  Madrid, 
where  are  seen  large  bridges  of  iron  and  stone  con- 
structed  in  the   sixteenth   century   over   then    large 


A  Sportsman  3 

streams,  which  have  now  dwindled  down  to  insignifi- 
cant volume. 

At  the  time  of  founding  Madrid  in  the  early  part  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  which  was  centrally  located  in 
Spain,  it  was  surrounded  by  forests  of  magnitude, 
all  of  which  have  disappeared  from  view.  They 
were  rain  breeders  and  moisture  holders,  and  with 
their  loss  the  country  became  deprived  of  water 
supply  and  dependent  upon  irrigation. 

I  was  strongly  reminded  while  there,  and  viewing 
the  desolate  appearance  of  the  environs  of  the  city, 
of  those  about  the  comparatively  treeless  region 
of  the  city  of  Santa  Fe  in  New  Mexico,  where  one 
looks  out  upon  a  desert  country,  but  scantily  re- 
lieved by  habitation. 

I  have  noted  in  New  Mexico  the  effect  of  forest 
denudation,  as  it  is  well  known  that  at  the  time 
of  the  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Coronado  Spanish  invasion 
in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  centviry,  diverted 
from  the  Hernando  Cortes,  that  considerable  parts 
of  New  Mexico  were  forest -gro\vn,  now  barren,  which 
supported  a  much  larger  native  population  than  found 
at  the  time  of  the  acquisition  of  that  territory  by 
the  United  States  in  1848. 

Frequent  forest  fires  were  the  occasion  which,  even 
before  the  Coronado  advance  in  search  of  the  golden 
cities  of  Mexican  tradition,  had  made  prominent 
ravages,  and  diminished  a  population  which  had  so 
far  as  indications  show,  been  the  most  dense  at  one 
time  in  Northern  New  Mexico  and  Southern  Colorado 
that  existed  upon  the  North  American  continent. 

I  have  witnessed  on  the  Estancia  plains,  and  at 
Algodones  and  other  localities   in   New   Mexico   and 


4  Reminiscences  of 

Southern  Colorado,  and  especially  about  Algodones, 
comparatively  unsettled  now,  the  plentiful  remnants 
of  pottery,  which  can  be  dug  up  at  about  every  shovel- 
ful, ancient  watercourses,  and  adobe  walls  extending 
over  many  square  miles,  which  have  withstood  the 
exposure  of  centuries.  Ruins  of  stone  watch-towers, 
and  walls  of  immense  community  houses  which  were 
occupied  by  hvmdreds  of  the  earlj^  Toltecs,  remain  as 
monuments  of  a  departed  race. 

The  question  of  forest  preservation  is  becoming 
one  of  increasing  importance,  not  only  for  game  life 
but  for  commercial  purposes,  and  the  consumption 
at  present  by  fires,  and  the  demands  for  lumber,  and 
especially  wood  pulp,  and  for  domestic  uses,  is  reach- 
ing alarming  proportions;  and  in  view  of  a  rapidly 
increasing  population  on  the  North  American  conti- 
nent, which  in  another  century  will  be  four  or  five  times 
greater  than  now,  one  may  readily  see  that  the  ques- 
tion of  wood  supply  and  its  preservation  and  cultiva- 
tion will  be  one  of  vital  interest. 

At  fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age — in  1849-50 — 
I  had  plentiful  experience  in  Illinois  over  its  plains 
and  in  the  wooded  region  along  the  Mississippi  River. 

The  State  was  then  young,  containing  about  one 
twentieth  of  its  present  population.  Game  was 
plentiful :  bear,  deer,  raccoons,  opossum,  wild  turkeys, 
water-fowl,  prairie  chickens,  and  quail.  SquiiTels 
were  common  about  the  hickory  groves — gray,  fox, 
and  some  black — and  many  of  the  gray  and  fox  fell 
before  my  gun.  I  was  very  fond  of  this  shooting,  and 
I  have  never  seen  such  quantities  of  squirrels  else- 
where as  were  in  evidence  at  that  time.  The  fox 
squirrels  here  moved  about  the  com  bins  and  fields, 


A  Sportsman  5 

while  the  gray  I  found  more  plentiful  about  the  trees. 
These  were  more  cunning  in  escaping  observation,  and 
had  a  habit  of  rapidly  disappearing  around  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  trees,  where  they  were  securely  hid- 
den from  view,  excepting  a  small  portion  of  their 
heads,  projecting  for  observ'ation.  As  I  would  pro- 
ceed around  the  tree  I  would  be  baffled  by  the  alert 
squirrels,  which  would  slip  arovmd  in  sequence  with 
my  movements. 

It  has  been  a  mooted  question  if,  in  circling  a  tree 
in  this  manner,  one  who  made  the  circuit  with  a 
squiiTel  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  tree  would 
actually  go  aroimd  the  squirrel  while  going  around 
the  tree.     This  question  I  will  leave  open. 

I  soon  overcame  this  difficulty  by  throwing  a  con- 
venient stone  or  stick  of  wood  as  far  as  I  could  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  tree,  which  landing  with  some 
noise  would  almost  invariably  throw  the  squirrel 
momentarily  off  guard,  when  he  would  flash  quickly 
to  my  side  of  the  tree  to  investigate  the  probably 
new  source  of  danger.  The  stay  would  scarcely  be 
more  than  half  a  second,  but  sufficient  in  my  pre- 
paredness to  accomplish  the  end. 

One  day  I  bagged  four  grays  out  of  five  from  a 
single  hickor}"  tree,  which  set  the  color  vividly  in 
mind.  This  was  equalled  on  a  moonlight  foray  we 
made  with  dogs  for  'coons. 

One  evening  we  secured  a  family  of  four  from  a 
single  tree  where  they  had  taken  refuge.  This  hunt- 
ing at  night  on  horseback  with  dogs  was  a  pastime 
much  in  vogue  in  my  locality,  and  an  occasional  wild- 
cat was  taken  in.  I  had  an  adventure  with  a  'coon  one 
day  which  was  not  very  pleasant.     It  was  after  a  light 


6  Reminiscences  of 

fall  of  snow  when  I  sallied  out  with  axe  and  gun  with 
two  old,  almost  toothless  dogs,  the  only  ones  about, 
and  after  tracking  a  'coon  to  a  hollow  tree  I  proceeded 
to  cut  it  down.  No  'coon  appeared,  but  while  inspect- 
ing the  upper  part  of  the  decayed  tree  a  large  one  in 
its  fright  leaped  out  directly  upon  me.  Down  I  fell  in 
confusion,  and  upon  me  the  'coon  and  my  two  old  dogs. 
To  save  myself  I  struggled  hard,  but  the  more  I  strug- 
gled the  more  I  seemed  to  be  the  centre  of  attack,  and  it 
was  an  occasion  of  pleasant  surprise  when  I  succeeded  in 
removing  myself  from  the  conflict,  when  the  dogs  had  dis- 
abled the  'coon,  to  find  I  had  received  no  bites,  although 
sadly  scratched,  and  with  my  clothing  badly  torn. 

Wild  turkeys  aboimded  in  the  neighboring  for- 
est, and  their  gobblings  could  often  be  heard  at  a  dis- 
tance in  the  early  mom.  Small-brained  and  stupid 
as  they  are  in  many  respects,  they  are  nevertheless 
very  quick  and  alert  to  take  alarm,  and  when  dis- 
tiarbed  depend  more  upon  their  running  than  on  flying. 
Stupid  they  are  to  allow  themselves  to  be  trapped  in 
a  rough  structure  of  logs  of  a  few  feet  in  height,  with 
open  spaces  between  the  logs,  but  not  sufficiently  wide 
to  allow  their  egress. 

One  part  on  one  side  is  left  open  to  a  height  of 
twelve  or  thirteen  inches  from  the  ground.  Com  is 
strewed  plentiftiUy  on  the  ground  inside  of  the  struc- 
ture and  in  a  stringing  way  leading  in  several  direc- 
tions from  it.  The  turkeys,  reaching  the  com  leaders, 
follow  up  and  unsuspecting  enter  the  open  way  to  the 
interior.  After  a  while  a  sense  of  confinement  occurs, 
and  one  flies  up  to  escape  between  the  logs,  and,  failing, 
gives  panic  to  the  balance,  who  lose  their  heads  and 
all  become  frantic  in  their  efforts  to  escape  in  the  same 


A  Sportsman  7 

manner  without  seeking  the  place  of  ingress.  This  sim- 
ple method  is  often  followed  with  nnich  success. 

We  occasionally  in  the  autumn  caught  turkeys  in 
the  cornfields,  where  they  were  seen,  attracted  by  the 
com  in  husk  pendent  upon  the  stalks.  This  was 
done  by  chasmg  with  dogs.  Those  hard  pressed 
behind  would  take  flight  over  the  fence  into  the 
woods  beyond,  but  those  in  advance  would  run  to 
the  fence  to  get  through,  and  finding  they  could  not, 
as  the  fences  about  the  field  were  of  rails  zigzag 
and  hog-proof  at  the  bottom,  in  their  close  quarters 
nmning  along  the  fence  for  possible  openings  and 
vmable  to  rise  abruptly  enough  to  get  over,  would  be 
seized  by  the  dogs. 

One  day,  while  riding  through  the  woods  and  ap- 
proaching a  settlement,  I  came  upon  a  flock  of  turkeys 
which  moved  about  near  me  with  so  little  alarm  that 
I  thought  it  domestic,  but  having,  after  leaving 
them,  a  suspicion  that  it  might  not  be,  inquired  at 
a  near-by  house  and  found  that  it  was  a  wild  one. 

Prairie  chickens  were  in  great  plentifulness  at  that 
time,  and  I  can  remember  seeing  the  farm  fences 
so  loaded  with  them  on  frosty  mornings  as  to  be  in 
danger  of  breaking  down.  On  one  occasion  when  I 
accompanied  some  older  hunters  upon  the  plains  for 
chicken  shooting  we  filled  the  wagon  body  with  birds. 
The  prairie  chicken — pinnated  grouse, — indigenous  over 
a  large  area  of  the  middle-western  country  of  the  United 
States,  existed  in  great  waves  of  plentifulness  in  the 
grain  regions  of  Illinois  at  this  time — 1849, — which  in 
abundance  gradually  diminished  as  the  State  became 
settled  up,  and  the  wave  of  plentifulness  extended 
westward. 


8  Reminiscences  of 

In  August,  1880,  when  I  accompanied  a  party 
from  Chicago  in  a  special  sportsman's  car  into  Min- 
nesota and  Eastern  Dakota,  we  found  this  great 
wave  of  plentifubiess  there,  and  I  remember  my  first 
day's  shooting  in  the  fields,  when  I  bagged  twenty- 
eight  birds.  We  had  a  box  freight -car  accompanying 
with  ice,  and  were  enabled  to  preserve  our  birds  for 
forwarding  back  to  our  friends,  though  we  ate  a  great 
many,  as  well  as  blue- winged  teal,  which  were  in  force 
about  the  waterways. 

The  region  was  then  settled  largely  by  Danes 
and  Norwegians,  and  entirely  open  from  fences ;  and 
chicken  hunters  were  in  some  abimdance,  to  the  an- 
noyance of  the  settlers,  who  came  out  to  warn  us 
off  their  lands. 

Dear  Uncle  Jake  (J.  K.  Armsby,  of  Chicago,  now 
deceased)  was  with  us.  How  gently  and  well  he  would 
take  the  hurrying-out  settlers  as  we  drove  up  to  their 
houses  to  ask  permission  to  shoot  over  their  lands ! 

Before  they  could  speak  a  word  he  would  conciliate 
them  with  a  hearty  greeting,  and,  having  a  big  flask 
of  whiskey  and  sundry  small  bags  of  smoking-tobacco 
and  cigars,  and  children's  picture  books,  he  would 
have  them  placated  before  they  could  deny,  which 
would  result  in  a  hearty  invitation  to  make  ourselves 
at  home  over  the  harvested  fields. 


THE  pinnated  grouse,  or  prairie  chicken,  is  a  purely 
indigenous  American  bird,  and  like  the  ruffed 
grouse,  or  partridge,  commonly  called,  was  formerly 
foimd  extensively  scattered  over  the  continent,  and 


A  Sportsman  9 

until  late  years  existed  upon  some  of  the  small  islands 
of  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

The  male  bird  has  on  each  side  of  the  neck  a  dis- 
tensible orange-colored  sac,  which  at  mating  season 
it  inflates  and  dilates  with  a  single  booming  sound, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  very  attractive  to  the  gentler 
bird,  or  of  challenging  quality  to  its  own  kind. 

When  rising,  it  flies  very  evenly,  presenting  a  fine 
mark  for  the  sportsman.  It  has  a  most  remarkable 
quahty  in  its  ability  upon  a  comparatively  bare 
ground  to  hide  itself  from  observation.  I  have  often 
observed  this  feature  when  without  a  dog  I  have 
marked  down  and  followed  a  covey  from  a  short  flight. 
Approaching  cautiously  imtil  I  stood  in  the  place  of 
descent  I  have  looked  in  vain  for  the  birds  which  I 
knew  were  immediately  about  me,  in  fact  almost  under 
my  feet,  and  I  have  stood  for  minutes  gazing  intently 
upon  every  nubbin  of  earth  and  spear  of  grass  for  a 
bird  and  not  one  could  I  see.  Advancing,  finally,  one 
would  fly  up  within  a  few  feet  of  me,  which  would  be  a 
signal  for  the  balance  to  rise,  and  ofE  they  would  go 
from  aU  arovmd  me. 

I  do  not  accoimt  the  prairie  chicken — though  very 
tender  and  juicy  when  young — as  particularly  at- 
tractive for  continuous  eating,  or  in  any  way  equal 
to  the  white  meat  of  the  ruffed  grouse  or  partridge, 
which  to  my  taste  is  superior,  when  in  condition  and 
well  kept,  to  any  bird  in  permanence  of  appetite  hold. 
I  have  observed  in  the  latter  bird  a  marked  differ- 
ence in  flavor,  in  favor  of  those  of  the  Atlantic  Coast 
over  those  of  the  Pacific.  The  latter  I  have  often 
found  too  highly  flavored  with  odors  of  various  kinds 
arising  from  their  particular  food. 


lo  Reminiscences  of 

The  hen  partridge  is  very  courageous  in  the  de- 
fence of  her  tender  young,  and  I  have  more  than 
once  been  amused  by  seeing  my  pet  colhe — who  has 
more  gentlemanly  qualities  than  most  dogs — chased 
out  of  sight  by  an  enraged  partridge  mother,  sur- 
prised with  her  young.  Several  times  in  the  Maine 
woods  I  have  warded  off  with  my  hands  the  sudden 
attacks  of  a  hen  partridge  when  so  surprised,  and  in 
those  solitary  forests,  where  human  beings  are  not 
often  seen,  I  have  often  watched  for  some  minutes 
a  clucking  cock  partridge  strolling  about  me,  ob- 
livious of  any  danger.  They  are  often  snared  in 
Maine  woods  by  boys,  with  moderately  long  poles 
with  nooses  attached.  A  feature  I  have  also  ob- 
served has  been  the  increasing  tameness  of  these 
birds  about  the  sunset  hour,  more  evident  than  at 
any  other  time. 

For  several  years  I  had  one  frequent  my  fishing 
residence  at  the  Rangeley  Lakes,  which  would  bud 
on  the  poplar  in  front,  and  made  free  with  the  store- 
room and  woodshed,  and  would  feed  on  the  food 
thrown  out. 

The  spruce  partridge  of  Maine  is  a  bird  still  tamer 
than  the  ruffed  grouse,  but  is  not  of  pleasant  flavor, 
though  beautiful  in  plumage.  It  inhabits  the  swamps 
and  spruce  trees,  taking  its  flavor  from  the  latter. 

The  sage  cock  of  the  great  plains  is  another  of  the 
grouse  family  which  is  not  of  agreeable  eating  flavor, 
being  tainted  with  the  brush  it  inhabits  and  feeds  on. 
This  bird  has  the  distinguishing  feature  of  being  un- 
like any  of  the  grouse  family,  being  gizzardless,  hav- 
ing no  muscular  development  of  that  character,  but 
a  membranous  sac  in  its  place. 


A  Sportsman  ii 

The  ptarmigan  is,  I  think,  the  poorest  eating  of  all 
the  grouse  family,  not  excepting  the  spruce  grouse, 
and  is  as  tame  in  its  home  localities  as  the  latter. 
I  have  often  encountered  them  in  the  heights  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  When  with  tender  young  chickens 
they  will  exhibit  the  actions  of  the  domestic  hen 
and  bustle  about  in  a  similar  manner,  and  I  have 
taken  up  the  young  chickens  in  my  hands  and  held 
them  momentarily,  while  the  mother  would  flutter 
around,  and  when  let  go  would  scamper  away  with 
the  brood.  I  have  seen  them  in  the  winter  fly  into 
vincrusted  snow  banks,  when  following  them  up  would 
be  a  useless  effort,  as  the  ptarmigan  will  travel  faster 
in  a  loose  snow  bank  than  one  can  dig  after  it. 

I  think  our  great  American  turkey  may  be  put  at 
the  head  of  the  "gizzard"  family,  and  may  lead  the 
digesting  procession,  for  it  is  capable  of  digesting 
about  anything  which  enters  its  crop,  be  it  vegetable, 
animal,  or  mineral.  I  have  killed  them  when  they 
were  unable  to  fly  from  the  weight  of  their  over- 
loaded crops,  which  swept  on  the  ground  as  they 
walked,  and  have  taken  from  single  crops  nearly  a 
quart  of  acorns  and  other  nuts,  which  would  surely 
have  been  digested  had  the  turkey  lived. 

The  gizzard  of  a  turkey  is  a  wonderful  piece  of 
muscular  mechanism  of  great  power,  through  which 
the  contents  of  the  crop  pass  with  the  auxiliary 
grinders  of  stones,  and  the  great  muscular  exertions 
of  the  gizzard  pulverize  the  hardest  acorns,  some  of 
them  being  as  large  as  a  man's  thumb.  Experiments 
have  been  tried  with  turkeys  by  setting  stout  needles 
in  glass  marbles,  and  being  covered  with  dough  these 
have  been  swallowed   and,  after  a  few  days,  have  been 


12  Reminiscences  of 

recovered  from  the  gizzard  and  found  with  the  needles 
gone,  and  the  glass  pretty  well  worn  away.  The 
turkey  may  be  regarded  at  the  head  for  its  digestive 
qualities,  as  well  as  for  its  delicious  flavor. 

Those  were  very  happy  days  I  passed  in  Illinois, 
to  which  my  memory  frequently  reverts,  and  while 
many  say  they  can  only  find  pleasure  in  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  future,  I  find  much  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  past ;  and  although  I  have  committed 
many  follies,  and  probably  but  few  wise  acts.  I 
have  certainly  enjoyed  life  to  a  large  extent,  which 
more  than  balances  the  disappointments  I  have  ex- 
perienced. 

Some  twenty  years  after  leaving  there,  being  near 
the  scenes  of  such  pleasant  memory,  I  procured  a 
vehicle  and  drove  over  to  the  old  Stone  farm,  but — 
sic  transit  gloria  mundi — what  a  shock  I  received! 
What  an  obliteration  of  all  the  old  landmarks  had 
occurred!  The  woods  on  the  south  had  disappeared 
and  in  their  place  was  an  extensive  cowfield  inter- 
sected with  trails,  and  beyond  cornfields  and  houses. 
The  dense  forest  extending  to  the  river,  and  so  wild 
and  sombre  I  hardly  dared  to  penetrate  its  far  depths, 
had  entirely  disappeared.  The  brooks  seemed  to 
have  dwindled  away,  and  the  old  hickory  trees  of 
lofty  height,  which  had  appeared  to  me  as  sentinels 
of  time,  were  gone.  In  vain  I  inquired  of  the  set- 
tlers for  the  families  of  yore,  only  to  be  answered  by 
the  response,  "  Moved  over  to  Missouri,"  or  "  Gone  to 
Kansas."  The  tears  unbidden  came  to  my  eyes,  and 
I  departed  for  new  scenes,  never  to  return. 

After  leaving  Illinois,  I  attended  school  at  West- 
minster, Mass.,  where  I  gave  more  attention  to  duck 


A  Sportsman  13 

and  partridge   shooting   and   fishing  than    I   did   to 
studies. 

One  Ossian  E.  Dodge,  a  spirited  singer,  came 
along,  accompanied  by  several  minstrels  of  like 
character,  whose  concerts  interested  the  town.  One 
of  their  songs  pertaining  to  California  was  given 
with  great  effect,  of  which  I  remember  only  the  fol- 
lowing lines: 

'T  is  there  they  say  the  gold  is  found. 

In  great  big  lumps  all  over  the  ground. 

Who'll  go?     Who'll  go? 

And  we  all  sleep  sound  on  the  cold  damp  ground 

Except  when  the  wolves  come  howling  around. 

Who'll  go?     Who'll  go? 

I  thought  I  would. 

Another  thing  influenced  me  somewhat  in  that 
direction.  One  of  the  boys  at  school  who  had  lately 
returned  with  his  parents  from  California  indicated 
a  considerable  degree  of  affluence  by  prodigally 
throwing  oranges  at  some  of  the  boys,  who  so  as- 
sented for  the  privilege  of  keeping  the  oranges  thrown. 
How  slight  are  the  circumstances  which  seriously 
affect  ovu-  lives! 

In  1852,  at  seventeen  years  of  age,  I  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  with  my  double-barrelled  shotgun,  a  revolver, 
and  a  large,  double-edged  knife  with  a  blade  thirteen 
inches  long,  made  from  an  old  sword  my  elder  brother 
had  acquired  in  the  Mexican  War  of  1846-47.  I  made 
a  long  passage  of  142  days  around  Cape  Horn,  a 
monotonous  trip  diversified  occasionally  by  catching 
sharks  when  becalmed  in  the  tropics,  spearing  por- 
poises, and!  trolling  for  bonita  and  dolphins.  Off 
Cape  Horn,  where  sea  birds  were  plentiful,  we  caught 


14  Reminiscences  of 

several  varieties,  and  one  day  I  caught  a  barrelful 
of  cape  pigeons,  so  called  from  their  resemblance  to 
that  bird,  but  web-footed.  These  afforded  several 
good  meals  for  all  hands,  and  they  seemed  very  good 
eating  at  the  time.  I  caught  these  with  a  long  line, 
to  which  was  attached  a  good-sized  morsel  of  salt 
pork,  below  which  extended  a  string  of  hooks  on  a 
strip  of  wood,  on  which  the  feet  of  the  birds  became 
entangled  as  the  vessel  moved  on.  This  was  a  base 
and  unfair  method,  which  I  now  regret. 

I  landed  in  San  Francisco  well  armed,  but  com- 
paratively penniless,  ten  cents  being  all  of  my  remaining 
capital  of  sixty  dollars  I  had  started  with;  fifty-nine 
dollars  and  ninety  cents  having  been  diverted  by  poker 
games,  in  which  I  was  initiated  by  several  yoimg  men 
on  the  voyage  at  one-cent  ante  and  ten-cent  limit. 

An  unfortunate  incident  occixrred  in  connection 
with  a  family  of  Braggs,  who  had  engaged  passages 
and  had  their  baggage  aboard  our  ship,  by  being  left 
behind.  Our  ship  was  delayed  in  loading  for  several 
days  after  the  date  fixed,  and  this  family,  depend- 
ing upon  its  being  still  longer  delayed,  were  visiting 
in  an  adjoining  town  and  overlooked.  The  family 
sailed  two  weeks  afterguards  for  San  Francisco  in  a 
succeeding  ship  of  the  same  line. 

When  we  pulled  in  at  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Bragg 
was  on  the  wharf  awaiting  our  arrival,  having  been 
in  the  city  two  weeks  before  our  arrival,  our  ship 
being  a  month  longer  in  passage  than  the  one  he 
sailed  on  with  his  family.  On  this  following  ship, 
which  had  .been  loading  some  time  before  our  ship 
sailed,  he  had  loaded  all  of  his  goods  in  trade,  valued 
at  $10,000,  consisting  principally  of  furniture,  giving 


A  Sportsman  15 

up  that  business  in  Boston  in  view  of  continuing  it 
in  San  Francisco.  He  had  insured  it  against  loss, 
but  upon  being  left  behind  rescinded  his  insurance 
to  save  the  premium,  concluding,  as  he  should  take 
passage  on  the  same  ship  with  his  family,  that  in 
case  of  shipwreck  resulting  in  the  loss  of  his  goods 
he  would  probably  with  his  family  be  lost  also,  and 
have  no  advantage  from  insurance.  When  the  ship 
conveying  him  and  his  family  and  goods  was  entering 
the  Golden  Gate  entrance  to  the  city,  it  struck  on  a 
hidden  rock,  and  sunk  beneath  the  water  a  total 
loss,  although  all  the  passengers  and  crew  were  safely 
landed.  Poor  Mr.  Bragg  shed  tears  as  he  related  to 
me  his  tale  of  sorrow,  and  I  expressed  much  pity 
and  sympath}^  for  him;  what  became  of  him  after- 
wards I  never  knew. 

San  Francisco,  at  that  time,  was  a  bustling  city  of 
some  30,000  inhabitants,  and  it  was  the  flush  period 
of  the  State,  when  money  was  plentifvil,  as  well  as  the 
comforts  of  life.  The  latter  were  expensive,  but 
money  flowed  freely  and  business  was  driving.  Open 
gambling  was  at  its  height,  and  one  could  go  through 
the  centre  of  several  blocks  in  the  large  gambling 
halls  by  crossing  the  streets.  These  saloons  were 
ornamented  with  spacious  bars,  from  which  the 
plungers  were  supplied  with  free  drinks,  and  soft 
music  was  dispensed  with  free  hand.  Side  tables 
were  supplied  with  free  lunches,  and  all  possible  aid 
was  extended  to  the  sturdy  miner,  with  his  bag  of 
gold  dust,  to  induce  his  belief  that  the  true  Eldo- 
rado had  been  finallj'  reached,  and  that  he  was  a 
prominent  stockholder  and  director  in  it. 

The   awakening   was  sometimes   abrupt   when   he 


lb  Reminiscences  of 

discovered  that  his  interest  had  expired,  and  that  his 
orders  at  the  bar  were  ignored.  Surprised  and  dis- 
pirited and  restricted  to  free  kmch,  a  conviction 
gradually  formed  in  his  breast  that  his  experience 
had  been  a  dream,  and  that  his  wakefulness  shovild 
consist  of  another  turn  at  the  sluice  boxes.  Fights 
and  murders  were  common ;  forty  murders  were  said 
to  have  been  committed  in  San  Francisco  in  1852 
and  only  one  murderer  hanged — Jos^  Fomie,  whose 
body  we  on  the  good  ship  Polynesia  saw  hanging  in 
plain  sight  on  Telegraph  Hill  the  day  we  rounded 
the  Golden  Gate  to  dock. 

Times  were  stirring;  the  roughs  terrorized  the 
citizens.  A  band  calling  itself  "regulators"  preyed 
upon  the  people  instead  of  protecting  them.  One 
Casy,  a  gambler,  shot  in  cold  blood  James  King,  of 
William,  a  prominent  editor  of  the  newspaper  Bul- 
letin, for  exposing  his  crimes.  Thugs  and  ballot- 
stuffers  controlled  the  polls.  The  bell  tolled  one  day 
and  the  vigilance  committee  was  formed  of  good 
citizens,  with  its  mN^sterious  and  unknown  secretary, 
otherwise  than  No.  33,  whose  mandates  became  law. 

Arrests  were  made  right  and  left;  Casy  and  Cora 
were  hanged;  Yankee  Sullivan,  a  noted  prize-fighter 
and  ballot-stuffer,  committed  suicide  in  his  cell  upon 
arrest,  fearing  that  he  would  be  hanged.  Roughs 
were  largely  banished  and  prohibited  from  returning. 
I  saw  a  lot  leaving  on  a  departing  steamer — Billy 
Mulligan,  Charley  Duane,  and  others.  I  saw  one  day 
hanging  on  the  hoisting  tackle  of  a  commercial  house 
on  a  principal  street  the  bodies  of  Whittaker  and 
McKenzie,  hung  by  the  vigilance  committee.  Order 
was  soon  largely  restored. 


A  Sportsman  17 

PENNILESS  though  I  was,  my  heart  was  most 
courageous.  Was  not  the  world  my  oyster, 
as  with  ancient  Pistol,  and  could  I  not  open  it  with 
my  sword  blade?  My  three  elder  brothers  had  pre- 
ceded me  in  1848  and  1849  to  California,  and  two  were 
engaged  in  San  Francisco  in  profitable  business,  and  I 
had  pressing  invitations  to  join  them,  but  I  had  no 
taste  for  it.  Had  I  not  my  gun,  and  could  I  not  have 
more  fun  to  my  liking  in  the  country?  Besides,  I 
had  visions  of  those  lumps  of  gold  said  to  be  lying 
about  at  the  mines,  and  hearing  that  near  Auburn, 
in  Placer  County,  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
north  of  San  Francisco,  miners  were  making  great  pay, 
I  went  up  there.  How  I  got  up  to  Sacramento 
— ^which  was  en  route,  up  the  bay  one  hundred  miles 
distant — I  cannot  remember,  but  I  do  vividly  re- 
member that  I  walked  up  the  distance  of  forty  miles 
to  the  mines,  and  back  to  Sacramento  again.  The 
game  I  killed  gave  me  welcome  for  meals  and  lodg- 
ings; welcome  with  the  miners  was  more  hearty  in 
those  days,  when  the  professional  tramp  was  vmknown. 
Apropos  of  tramps,  no  country  is  more  infested  with, 
or  more  favorable  from  its  mild  climate  for,  those 
vagabonds  than  California.  Here  sleeping  out  in  the 
open  or  camping  out  is  a  pleasant  pastime,  where  the 
blanket  brigade  is  in  great  force,  and  where,  owing  to 
the  thoughtless  liberality  of  the  people,  it  can  depend 
upon  liberal  "handouts."  The  magnitude  of  this  ele- 
ment was  a  legacy  from  the  Civil  War  of  1860-65,  as 
all  can  note  who  remember  how  rare  it  was  prior 
to  the  war.  Of  late  it  has  been  an  increasing  evil 
for  which  no  remedy  has  appeared  adequate,  but 
will    ultimately  be    relieved  in  the   grand  march   of 


i8  Reminiscences  of 

civilization  as  well  as  many  other  social  evils  by 
which  humanity  is  retarded. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  history  of  the  ani- 
mal man  has  been  very  brief  compared  with  time — 
a  history  which  extends  back  but  a  few  thousand 
years,  and  which  by  its  extraordinary  progress, 
despite  the  horrors  of  war  and  kindred  demoralizing 
evils,  will  ultimately  reach  a  level  when  a  retro- 
spection of  present  conditions  will  create  surprise 
that  beings  so  intelligent  as  those  now  existing 
could  have  submitted  to  such  pernicious  errors. 

The  country  beyond  Sacramento  to  the  placer 
mines  of  Aubuni  was  the  most  attractive  I  had  ever  or 
have  since  seen,  comprising  valleys  and  moderate  hills 
grown  over  with  groups  of  live  and  white  oaks,  in- 
habited by  quantities  of  magjMes,  robins,  larks,  and 
other  small  birds.  Beneath  the  trees  were  many 
quails  and  hares,  with  antelopes  to  be  seen  in  the 
distance. 

It  was  midwinter,  yet  the  weather  was  bright 
and  warm,  and  the  temperature  seldom  fell  to 
freezing. 

How  trivial  are  the  incidents  which  oftentimes 
become  important  in  our  after  lives!  The  casual  ob- 
servation of  a  fellow  foot -traveller  who  walked  on 
with  me  for  a  while,  that  it  was  an  ideal  sheep  region, 
gave  a  color  to  my  thoughts,  which  half  a  dozen 
years  afterwards  matured  in  my  mind  to  the  com- 
mencement of  an  industr}'  there  in  which  I  engaged. 

An  elder  brother  had  imported  from  Australia  a 
few  hundred  high-grade  sheep,  of  which  all  but  one 
himdred  and  twenty  had  died  upon  the  passage  to 
San    Francisco,    and    my   brother's    death    occurring 


A  Sportsman  19 

shortly  afterwards,  I  became  interested  in  them,  and 
they  were  placed  on  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  midway  between  Sacramento  and  Auburn  as  a 
desirable  locality,  and  I  have  carried  on  the  business 
vmtil  the  present  time  in  connection  with  other  interests, 
and  now  after  nearly  half  a  century  the  interest  has 
grown  to  an  area  of  thirty  thousand  acres  with  nearly 
twenty  thousand  sheep. 

My  rambles  about  the  mines  and  along  the  sluicing 
ditches  failed  to  give  me  the  welcome  sight  of  nuggets 
I  had  expected  my  keen  vision  to  discover.  I  had  ex- 
pected in  my  embryotic  experience  to  sight  a  few  of 
the  size  of  hen's  eggs,  which  might  have  escaped  the 
observation  of  the  miners,  but  afterwards  concluded 
that  I  would  be  satisfied  with  some  of  more  moderate 
dimensions,  and  finally  thought  I  would  be  content 
with  a  few  small  ones  sufficient  to  set  off  some  scarf- 
pins;  but  none  did  I  find,  and  returned  somewhat  dis- 
appointed to  San  Francisco.  Here  I  again  declined 
opportunities  for  business,  and  frequenting  the  markets 
and  game  stalls  more  or  less,  which  interested  me  more 
than  anything  else,  I  saw  that  game  and  birds,  though 
plentiful,  were  fetching  large  prices. 

Obtaining  particulars  of  the  sources  of  supply,  I 
concluded  that  the  situation  was  very  favorable  for 
adventures  to  my  liking.  Small  table  birds,  quail, 
larks,  snipe,  robins,  etc.,  were  selling  at  five  and  six 
dollars  per  dozen  retail;  venison,  sixty  and  seventy- 
five  cents  per  pound;  turkeys,  ten  dollars;  chickens, 
three  dollars;  eggs,  three  dollars  per  dozen;  butter, 
one  dollar  per  pound.  Here  was  my  opportunity.  I 
learned  that  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  at  the  south 
end  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  was  one  grand  field 


20  Reminiscences  of 

of  birds;  and  that  I  could  obtain  three  dollars  per 
dozen  for  any  kind. 

Securing  tag  cards  of  the  most  promising  city 
market-men,  I  directed  myself  to  the  port  of  Alviso, 
at  the  foot  of  the  bay  adjoining  the  promised  land. 
Though  my  finances  were  low,  not  having  even  the 
fifty  cents  to  defray  my  passage  down  the  bay,  I  was 
exultant,  breathing  freely  of  hope  and  oxygen.  The 
absence  of  base  lucre  was  a  trifling  item  when  ex- 
pectation loomed  so  brilliantly  before  me,  and  I  had 
no  difficulty  in  gaining  the  consent  of  the  captain 
of  the  boat  for  a  free  passage  when  I  explained  the 
object  of  my  trip,  and  he  seemed  very  much  amused  at 
my  enthusiasm. 

My  eldest  brother,  who  was  much  opposed  to  my 
absurd  scheme,  as  he  termed  it,  and  annoyed  at  my 
refusal  to  engage  with  him  in  business,  learning  of 
my  proposed  departure,  made  his  appearance  at  the 
wharf  just  about  as  the  boat  pulled  out,  and  vainly 
besought  me  to  desist,  which  I  positively  refused, 
and  also  the  pecviniary  aid  he  proffered.  As  the  boat 
parted  from  the  wharf  I  stepped  upon  it,  and  my 
brother,  as  a  dernier,  tossed  a  twenty-dollar  gold 
piece  at  my  feet,  which  I  promptly  threw  back  at  his 
own,  and  bid  him  adieu. 

At  Alviso,  where  I  arrived  before  dark,  I  had  no 
difficulty  in  getting  credit  for  a  good  lay-in  of  pow- 
der, shot,  and  percussion  caps,  the  latter  then  being 
in  use  for  the  muzzle-loaders  in  vogue,  and  in  the 
latter  respect  I  was  equipped  with  m}^  much-treas- 
ured double-barrelled  companion,  which  that  night  I 
placed  for  safe-keeping  under  my  pillow  when  I  re- 
tired.     I  pushed    on    two    or   three    miles  from  the 


A  Sportsman  21 

village  to  a  farmhouse,  plentifully  surrounded  by  wild- 
mustard  fields,  where  birds  seemed  plentiful.  Here 
I  engaged  board  and  lodgings  at  eight  dollars  per 
week. 

The  following  morning  at  daylight  I  was  in  the 
fields,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  had  about  three 
dozen  assorted  birds  which,  tagged,  went  off  that  day 
to  my  market  customer.  This  pastime  I  followed 
for  several  weeks,  and  although  I  did  not  average 
my  first  day's  shooting,  I  rolled  up  a  pretty  fair 
profit  over  my  expenses.  The  labor,  however,  I  found 
rather  wearing,  despite  my  3'outh  and  activity;  for, 
besides  my  necessitated  walking  in  the  fields,  I  had 
to  give  daily  three  or  four  miles  more  to  the  boat 
and  back  in  forwarding  my  birds  to  market.  This 
worked  down  my  flesh  somewhat,  and  though  weigh- 
ing now  175  pounds,  I  was  down  to  120  pounds  at 
that  time. 

One  day  a  man  came  along  bleeding  from  a  broken 
head,  leading  a  spirited  mustang  stallion,  which  had 
thrown  him,  and  offered  to  sell  it,  with  the  ordinary 
Mexican  saddle  and  bridle,  for  $25.  I  had  in  view 
the  joining  of  a  small  party  of  hunters,  who  were 
killing  deer  and  elk  in  the  neighboring  mountains  for 
the  San  Francisco  market,  so  I  purchased  the  horse, 
and  in  a  few  days  joined  the  mountain  party,  which 
consisted  of  four,  my  interest  being  one  half  that 
allowed  to  the  other  hunters,  and  took  up  my  abode 
with  them  at  an  open  encampment  in  the  mountain 
hills  back  of  the  San  Jos6  Mission. 

This  party  consisted  of  a  German,  a  well-educated 
young  Englishman,  and  two  Americans.  The  latter 
were  both  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  and 


22  Reminiscences  of 

one  of  them,  Bennet,  was  a  remarkably  good  and 
successful  shot,  very  muscular,  and  noted  for  his 
adventures  with  and  killing  of  grizzly  bears.  The 
latter  were  quite  plentiful  then  in  mountain  regions 
about  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  in  a  region  now  taken 
up  wholly  by  settlements,  from  which  the  grizzHes 
have  been  pretty  effectually  eliminated. 

In  the  early  days  grizzlies  were  very  plentiful 
about  the  valleys  in  the  State,  and  John  Bidwell,  an 
early  settler  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  gives  fre- 
quent mention  of  them  in  his  diary,  lately  published, 
and  of  often  seeing  from  eight  to  ten  in  a  single  day. 
These  grizzly  monarchs,  once  so  fierce  and  tenacious 
and  disputants  of  the  regions  they  inhabited,  are  now 
but  rarely  seen,  excepting  in  menageries  or  parks, 
where  they  humbly  accept  peanuts  and  sweets  from 
well-protected  visitors. 

Elk  have  entirely  disappeared,  and  deer  are  re- 
stricted to  comparatively  limited  ranges.  Antelope, 
once  so  plentiful,  are  about  gone.  It  was  not  uncom- 
mon in  those  early  days  to  see  large  bands  of  elk 
frequently,  and  deer  were  so  plentiful  as  to  occasion 
cessation  at  times  from  shooting  by  the  party  I  accom- 
panied, from  inability  to  transport  to  Alviso,  the 
shipping  station  to  San  Francisco. 

Our  system  comprised  three  pack  mules,  carrying 
six  deer,  and  required  two  days  for  the  trip,  one  day 
to  Alviso,  and  one  for  retvim.  These  trips  were 
taken  by  the  hunters  in  sequence,  in  which  I  took 
part.  I  remained  with  this  party  for  three  months 
until  the  shooting  season  ended.  When  it  terminated 
I  had  a  small  pot  of  money  as  my  share,  which  con- 
stituted my  commencement  capital  for  the  business 


A  Sportsman  23 

of  my  life,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  at  a  later  period 
of  making  a  gift  of  825,000  to  my  elder  brother, 
whose  wants  were  greater  than  mine. 

One  of  our  New  Hampshire  men  was  a  graduate 
of  Yale  College,  and  after  the  hunting  trip  I  saw 
him  engaged  in  the  water  business  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, he  having  acquired,  with  his  capital  obtained 
in  hunting,  an  artesian  well,  from  which  he  was 
distributing  the  water  in  carts. 

Bennet  was  a  remarkable  character  in  his  way, 
and  never  went  out  of  the  way  to  avoid  a  grizzly 
bear,  and  killed  three  during  our  excursion.  He  was 
of  medium  height  and  very  muscular,  and  double- 
jointed.  He  was  very  jolly  and  good-natured  when 
normal,  but  quick  to  quarrel  when  in  liquor,  which 
was  not  infrequent,  and  would  often  fill  up  on  his 
trips  to  the  bay,  and  on  one  excursion  to  the  boat 
engaged  in  a  terrific  hand  fight  with  the  burly  land- 
lord of  the  Alviso  Hotel,  w-hom  he  laid  up  for  re- 
pairs. He  was  a  very  fast  runner,  and  claimed  he 
could  outrun  a  horse  on  a  spurt.  I  saw  him  kill  a 
large  grizzly  in  an  open  wild-oat  field  one  morning, 
which  w^e  observed  at  a  considerable  distance,  as  we 
arose.  This,  Bennet  immediately  claimed  he  would 
kill.  The  bear  was  dangerously  situated  for  reaching 
and  attacking,  from  being  so  far  in  the  open  without 
any  sheltering  trees  or  rocks.  The  bear  was  feeding 
upon  wild  oats,  a  favorite  food. 

After  a  hasty  breakfast,  we  mounted  and  accom- 
panied Bennet,  and,  being  at  the  leeward,  passed 
down  a  declivity  and  through  some  timber  as  near 
as  we  thought  we  could  without  being  observed, 
and  here  separated.     Bennet  picketed  his  horse,  and 


24  Reminiscences  of 

stripped  down  to  his  drawers  and  stocking  feet,  and, 
hatless,  with  his  rifle  and  big  knife,  crept  cautiously 
toward  his  victim.  His  knife  was  a  feature,  weigh- 
ing three  or  four  povmds — ^his  grizzly  knife,  as  he 
called  it.  It  was  somewhat  like  a  cleaver,  except  that  it 
was  sharpened  on  the  back  from  the  point  for  three 
or  four  inches.  He  claimed  that  he  was  once  fol- 
lowed up  a  tree  by  a  wovmded  bear,  where  the  latter 
could  by  reaching  the  lower  branches  lift  himself  up, 
and  that  he  reached  down  with  his  big  knife  and 
lopped  off  the  bear's  claws,  and  mangled  his  feet  so 
badly  that  he  fell  oft'  the  tree  and  quit  the  attack. 
Bennet  based  his  safety  largely — upon  failure  to  kill 
— on  his  speed  as  a  sprinter,  and  upon  his  knife  as 
a  last  resort. 

He  soon  passed  out  of  sight,  and  after  a  little 
while  I  concluded  to  picket  my  horse  and  climb  up 
a  tree  with  my  gun,  from  which  I  was  able  to  view 
the  field.  I  saw  the  bear  was  still  feeding,  oblivious 
of  our  approach  and  of  Bennet's  proximity,  creeping 
through  the  tall  wild  oats  and  occasionally  rising 
cautiously  for  a  view.  It  was  a  bold,  hazardous 
imdertaking.  Bennet  kept  on  vintil  he  seemed  to  be 
within  about  sixty  yards  of  the  bear,  and  bruin  was 
still  vmsuspicious.  Here,  cautiously  peeping  over  the 
oats,  he  gave  a  light  whistle,  which  brought  the  bear 
up  and  turning  slowly  around  inspecting  the  origin 
of  the  sound.  As  he  turned  his  side  toward  Bennet 
with  his  forepaws  hanging  dowTi,  the  latter  fired,  and 
I  saw  the  bear  fall  where  he  stood,  and  Bennet  like- 
wise dropped  in  his  place  for  a  moment,  when  he 
carefully  arose  to  see  if  any  advance  had  occurred, 
and,   not    seeing    an3%   withdrew  cautiously,   keeping 


A  Sportsman  25 

an  eye  on  the  spot  the  bear  had  occupied  until 
he  had  placed  himself  some  hundreds  of  yards  off, 
where  he  waited  from  five  to  ten  minutes  watching 
any  movement  which  might  occur.  Not  seeing  any, 
he  carefully  approached  the  bear,  and  found  him 
in  place,  in  the  last  faint  struggle  of  life.  It  was  a 
large  bear  in  good  fur  and  flesh,  but  no  advantage 
was  taken  of  either,  as  the  fur  was  out  of  season, 
and  the  weather  was  too  warm  for  holding  the  meat, 
and  the  latter  was  of  little  value  at  any  season  as 
an  edible. 

The  g^zzlies  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  though  larger 
than  those  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  ranges,  and  of 
great  ferocity,  are  not  considered  as  tenacious  of  life 
as  those  of  the  latter.  Repeated  instances  are  recited 
where  the  Rocky  Mountain  grizzlies  after  being 
fatally  wounded  have  committed  acts  showing  sur- 
prising vitality,  mention  of  which  has  been  made  by 
all  the  prominent  explorers  of  the  West,  commen- 
cing with  the  accounts  of  the  famous  Lewis  and 
Clark  expedition  across  the  American  continent  in 
1804.  It  is  related  in  the  jovunals  of  that  first  ex- 
ploration party  to  cross  the  Rocky  Mountain  regions 
that  grizzly  bears  were  an  especial  terror,  which 
swam  rivers  and  killed  hunters  after  being  shot 
through  the  heart. 

Hunters  have  remarked  the  effect  upon  animals 
resulting  from  the  active  or  passive  condition  the 
animal  was  in  at  the  time  of  being  wounded.  A 
ferocious  animal  in  pursuit  of  its  prey,  or  in  defence 
of  its  young,  will  exhibit  a  far  stronger  hold  on  life 
than  when  engaged  in  resting,  or  quietly  feeding.  It 
was  quite  common  in  the  earlier  days  of  California 


26  Reminiscences  of 

for  the  Mexican  riders,  fearless,  and  expert  in  the 
casting  of  the  lariat,  to  siorround  a  grizzly  bear  found 
in  the  open,  and  to  hold  him  secure  by  numerous  lines 
kept  taut.  Despite  the  enraged  and  frantic  efforts  of 
the  bear,  he  became  powerless  while  held  by  so  many 
lariats  straining  in  various  directions  from  the  pommels 
of  well-cinched  saddles,  directed  by  the  intelligent 
mustangs  and  their  riders.  When  exhausted,  the 
bear  was  despatched  with  a  few  shots  or  dragged  to 
some  stockade  for  a  future  bull  and  bear  fisjht — a 
sport  common  in  early  days. 

The  Mexican  vaqueros,  in  early  days,  when  more 
plentiful  than  now,  cherishing  a  prejudice  and  dis- 
like of  American  invaders,  and  relying  on  their  skill 
attained  in  the  field  in  throwing  the  lariat,  often 
illustrated  their  proficiency  in  this  line  by  lassoing 
strangers  who,  travelling  in  an  isolated  manner, 
were  met  with.  These,  once  being  circled  by  the 
tightly  drawn  hide  cord,  were  dragged  from  their 
footing  or  saddle  over  the  rough  ground  imtil  in- 
sensible, when  they  were  despatched,  and  their  bodies, 
after  being  rifled  of  any  valuables,  were  thrown  in 
some  obscure  place.  Early  Califomians  ■«-ill  remem- 
ber the  frequency  of  such  events,  and  a  number  of 
bodies  were  found  so  despatched  in  the  region  about  us 
during  our  mountain  sojourn. 

This  condition  put  us  on  our  guard  in  this  re- 
spect, and  I  had  reason  to  believe  one  day,  when  I 
was  passing  mounted  along  a  valley  trail  of  solitary 
aspect,  that  I  was  an  object  of  interest  to  a  rascally- 
looking  Mexican,  who  was  following  me  in  saddle 
with  his  lariat  coiled  at  his  pommel  head,  and  I  in- 
creased my  speed  only  to  find  that  his  was  increased 


A  Sportsman  27 

correspondingly,  whereupon  I  quickly  halted  and  put 
myself  on  foot  beside  my  horse,  and  drew  a  bead 
upon  him  with  my  rifle;  at  which  he,  being  beyond 
casting  distance,  made  an  extensive  detour  around 
and  below  me,  and,  after  seeing  him  disappear  on  the 
trail  below,  I  mounted  and  retraced  my  way  back 
to  our  encampment.  I  was  not  much  alarmed,  for, 
though  my  rifle  was  a  muzzle-loader,  I  had  my  navy 
revolver  at  my  belt,  with  which  I  was  tolerably 
proficient,  and  I  felt  qviite  competent  to  stand  off 
one  or  two  Mexicans  before  they  could  come  within 
casting  distance. 

Some  portions  of  the  region  about  us  were  oc- 
cupied as  cattle  ranges,  and  some  of  the  semi-wild 
bulls  met  with  were  well  to  avoid.  We  made  no 
scruples  in  knocking  over  a  calf  or  a  young  heifer 
occasionally  for  a  change  of  diet,  at  which  no  in- 
quiries ever  arose.  At  one  time  near  us  there  was 
an  encampment  of  cattle  rustlers  engaged  in  scoop- 
ing small  herds,  which  they  would  cut  out  and  drive 
to  the  extent  of  a  day's  trip  and  turn  over  to  an 
associate  band,  which  in  turn  would  deliver  to  another 
which  would  market  or  distribute  at  some  distant 
point.  Those  camped  near  us  were  a  bad  lot,  being 
mostly  Americans  from  the  Middle  West,  and  our 
relations  w^ere  the  least  friendly  with  them.  They 
were  soon  after  driven  away  by  the  settlers  in  the 
valley. 

Some  wild  horses  were  about,  but  it  was  seldom 
that  we  saw  any,  and  when  seen  they  were  a  long 
distance  away. 

A  few  Digger  Indians  still  inhabited  the  region, 
but  kept  well  out  of  sight,  although  their  presence 


28  Reminiscences  of 

was  indicated  by  the  removal  of  deer  entrails,  which 
was  of  frequent  occurrence.  This  was  evidenced  by  a 
clean  removal  of  the  offal,  instead  of  being  scattered 
about,  as  it  would  be  by  coyotes  or  other  animals. 
The  Digger  Indian  is  pretty  nearly  extinct  in  the 
State  now,  and  belongs  to  the  lowest  class  of  aborigines, 
living  on  roots,  acorns,  and  offal  of  ancient  date. 
I  have  seen  them  in  some  parts  of  the  State,  whole 
farnilies,  by  the  hour  industriously  engaged  beneath 
some  spreading  pine  tree,  eating  the  meagre  pit 
meats  of  the  cones.  The  native  clover  flower  tops 
are  specially  attractive  to  them,  which  they  will  sit 
among,  and  fill  up  their  stomachs  and  skin  bags. 
Grasshoppers  they  simply  revel  in  and  grow  fat  upon. 
Some  years  these  are  pests  of  such  extent  as  to 
devastate  large  portions  of  the  State,  eating  every- 
thing in  sight,  and  are  said  to  impudently  ask  the 
distracted  farmer  for  chewing-gum  and  cigarettes. 
This  season,  however,  is  one  of  the  Diggers'  delight. 

The  oak  groves  about  me  now  (my  residence  in 
California)  were  once  the  habitat  of  many  Digger 
Indians.  No  monuments  have  they  left,  and  all  that 
tells  of  their  existence  are  the  thousands  of  mortar 
holes  in  the  flat  rocks,  many  of  which  still  contain 
the  pestles  of  i-ude  form  with  which  they  crtished  the 
acorns  for  bread-making.  On  many  flat  rocks  there 
are  a  dozen  or  more  of  mortar  holes,  large  and  small, 
and  some  of  them  worn  down  to  a  foot  in  depth, 
and  many  hundreds  of  such  mortar  holes  are  to  be 
seen  within  a  radius  of  a  mile  from  where  I  am  now 
writing. 

Ten  or  fifteen  years  ago  a  small  band  of  these 
Indians  yearly  came  about  here,  but  I  have  not  seen 


A  Sportsman  29 

any  about  of  late.  Capt.  John,  the  chief  of  a  small 
band,  was  an  old  friend  of  mine,  but  has  evidently 
gone  the  way  of  his  fathers.  Attended  by  a  small 
group  of  bucks  and  squaws  he  would  regularly  round 
up  at  my  house,  and,  after  a  pleasant  greeting,  would 
accept  an  invitation  to  grub  up  with  a  load  of  cold 
meats,  hams,  bread,  canned  goods,  etc.,  accompanied 
by  sundry  parcels  of  old  clothes  and  hats;  then,  with 
an  oleaginous  smile  over  his  swarthy  visage,  he  would 
go  to  the  clover  valley  below  for  encampment. 

Almost  weekly  during  Capt.  John's  stay  he  would 
call  around  for  a  personal  interview,  the  substance 
of  which  was  to  procure  a  dollar  to  purchase  powder 
and  balls  to  kill  wild-cats,  in  evidence  of  which  he 
would  pull  out  of  his  hunting  and  grub  sack  a  badly 
worn  pelt  of  some  ancient  nondescript  of  abnormal 
origin,  which  would  immediately  satisfy  me  with  the 
importance  of  his  request. 

One  of  the  first  duties  of  Capt.  John  and  his  at- 
tendants was  to  disrobe  and  roll  in  the  unctious 
mud  of  the  mineral  springs  in  the  valley,  and  after- 
wards to  sit  in  the  sun  on  the  ground  for  an  hour  or 
two  coated  with  the  mud,  which  was  replenished  at 
intervals  by  another  application.  The  new  portions 
added  were  poured  down  from  the  top  of  the  head, 
and  the  appearance  of  those  mud-cure  zealots  would 
discount  any  appearance  yet  given  of  the  witches  in 
Macbeth.  From  the  mud  to  the  water,  and  then 
with  invigorated  appetite  to  the  clover  beds,  and  in 
sequence  to  sweet  repose,  restful  to  the  savage  breast 
as  to  the  luxurious  visitor  of  modem  curative  sta- 
tions, was  a  frequent  act  of  our  first  families  of 
America.       Capt.  John  seriously  assured  me  that  it 


30  Reminiscences  of 

was  a  heap  good  for  bone  sick — evidently  meaning 
for  rheumatism. 

These  Indians  often  engaged  in  gathering  grass- 
hoppers when  they  were  plentiful,  in  the  following 
manner:  First,  by  sinking  a  well -hole  in  a  convenient 
locaUty,  of  some  five  or  six  feet  in  depth  and  of 
equal  width,  keeping  it  half  full  of  water;  then  en- 
gaging all  hands  with  bushes  and  tree  branches  in 
beating  forward  the  grasshoppers  on  the  ground  to- 
ward and  into  the  well,  where  they  were  soon  drowned ; 
then  heating  some  large  stones  on  a  fire  made  for  the 
purpose,  from  which  the  stones  were  rolled  forward 
when  sufficiently  heated  into  the  well,  and  the 
water,  heating  up,  cooked  the  hoppers.  When  ac- 
counted done  by  the  head  chef,  the  hoppers  were 
raked  out  upon  the  adjoining  ground  to  dry;  the 
latter  effect  being  reached,  they  were  then  packed 
away  in  skins  for  use. 

With  them  a  good  and  prosperous  season  occurred 
when  acorns  and  grasshoppers  were  plentiful.  Even 
if  the  clover  were  deficient,  it  may  be  assumed  that 
a  good  acorn  stew  enriched  with  a  few  handfuls  of 
grasshoppers,  and  possibly  a  bunch  or  two  of  clover, 
would  make  a  very  appetizing  meal  for  a  Digger 
Indian  as  a  change  from  pine  cone,  nuts,  and  ground 
squirrels. 

Although  the  Digger  Indians  in  the  State  are  now 
reduced  to  very  small  numbers,  there  are  still  a  good 
many  of  other  tribes,  more  conspicuous  than  the 
Diggers  were  for  intelligence,  some  of  whom  in  early 
days  were  conspicuous  for  their  opposition  to  the 
white  invaders.  A  few  thousand  of  these  still  exist, 
huddled   together    in    small    squads    in    various    sec- 


A  Sportsman  31 

tions,  on  lands  which  they  do  not  possess.  Neither 
the  State  nor  the  General  Government  has  ever  given 
them  any  reservation  or  aid.  Some  work  and  others 
beg,  but  are  unable  to  compete  with  the  white  people 
in  the  economic  struggle  for  life.  Exertions  are  now 
being  made  for  them  by  the  Northern  California 
Indian  Association,  in  which  I  am  interested,  from 
which  it  is  expected  that  the  remaining  Indians  in 
the  State  will  have  their  conditions  improved. 


AFTER  returning  to  San  Francisco  from  the  moun- 
tains, I  foimd  myself  still  indisposed  toward  the 
confining  life  of  business,  and  besides  I  was  more  in- 
dependently situated  than  before,  having  funds  to 
my  credit. 

Australia  was  attracting  attention,  and  several 
newly-made  friends  of  mine  were  engaging  passage 
in  a  ship  about  to  sail  for  Melbourne,  and  I  se- 
riously thought  of  going  with  them,  and  selected 
a  berth  in  the  ship,  but  delayed  in  taking  passage,  and 
finally  gave  it  up.  I  was  largely  influenced  in  this 
decision  from  the  appearance  of  the  ship,  as  it  was 
a  bad-smelling,  vinattractive  old  tub  which  gave  me 
an  vmfavorable  opinion  of  its  capacity.  Fortimate 
for  me  that  I  gave  it  up,  for  the  ship  was  never  heard 
of  again  after  sailing,  and  it  is  not  likely  to  be  now, 
after  the  lapse  of  half  a  century. 

I  continued  to  frequent  the  markets  and  shipping. 
One  day  I  saw  on  a  freshly  arrived  ship  from  China 
a  lot  of  canary  birds,  several  hundred  in  a  large 
cage  on  the  cabin  deck,  which  interested  me,  and 
which  I  found  belonged  to  the  captain  of  the  ship, 


32  Reminiscences  of 

who  had  brought  them  over  on  a  personal  specula- 
tion, and  that  he  had  a  lot  of  nested  cages  of  bamboo 
to  fit  them  out  with  for  selling.  I  thought  this  a 
favorable  opportunity  for  some  work  on  my  part, 
which  ended  in  my  purchase  of  the  lot,  birds  and 
cages,  for  a  thousand  dollars,  which  gave  the  cap- 
tain a  good  profit.  I  did  not  have  enough  money  to 
pay  down  for  the  lot,  but  easily  arranged  with  the 
rotund  navigator  to  pay  down  what  money  I  had 
and  the  balance  in  instalments,  as  I  should  take  the 
birds  away. 

I  then  set  at  work  putting  up  the  cages  on  the 
deck,  with  a  bird  in  each,  and,  with  some  assistance, 
carried  the  cages  with  birds  to  different  stores  I  had 
arranged  with,  where  they  were  exposed  for  sale, 
and  being  the  first  lot  of  this  character  to  anive  in 
that  budding  city,  my  expectations  were  fully  real- 
ized by  rapid  sales  at  full  prices,  and,  although  I 
shared  liberally  with  the  shop  sellers,  I  considerably 
increased  my  capital. 

Somewhat  with  the  air  of  a  capitalist,  I  then  pro- 
posed to  the  market-man  whom  I  had  had  dealings 
with  in  game  that  I  shoiild  associate  with  him  in 
his  branching  out  in  a  more  extensive  business;  that 
he  should  attend  to  the  business  in  the  city  and  I 
Would  go  up  to  the  alluvial  lands  in  the  bay,  at  the 
estuaries  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers 
where  they  debotiched  out  over  the  flat  tule  lands, 
a  great  field  for  aquatic  birds  and  salmon,  and  sup- 
ply him  with  such  products  for  sale.  He  was  a 
pretty  clever  business  man,  but  intemperate  and  in- 
clined to  various  dissipations,  which  put  me  on  guard, 
but  he  was  willing,  so  we  engaged. 


A  Sportsman  33 

Although  the  game  season  was  practically  over, 
no  laws  existed  for  preservation — or  at  least  were 
not  regarded — and  eatable  birds  of  all  kinds  were 
freely  sold.  Salmon  were  running,  and  were  ex- 
tensively seined  by  Italians  and  other  fishermen,  and 
a  miscellaneous  lot  of  fishes  were  netted,  and  birds 
were  plentiful.  I  purchased  and  forwarded  freely, 
and  my  man  seemed  capable  of  getting  away  with 
all  I  sent  him,  and  generally  at  large  profits.  Salmon 
at  times  were  so  plentiful  that  I  would  occasionally 
buy  them  at  ten  or  fifteen  cents  apiece  and  the  city 
markets  would  become  so  glutted  that  the  sales  would 
be  slow  at  five  cents  a  poimd,  though  the  retail  price 
would  be  a  bit,  or  twelve  cents. 

One  day  I  met  a  Scotchman  looking  for  employ- 
ment who  claimed  he  was  an  adept  at  smoking  salmon, 
and  could  at  a  moderate  expense  put  up  a  smoking- 
plant.  I  engaged  him  and  proceeded  in  this  line,  to 
great  advantage,  as  it  opened  a  market  in  the  mines 
where  fresh  salmon  could  not  reach;  but  others  soon 
caught  on,  and  on  a  more  extensive  scale  than  mine, 
and  selling  prices  fell  off.  In  fact  the  business  of  my 
associate  began  to  diminish  in  profits,  and  considering 
his  habits,  as  prosperity  seemed  to  increase  his  ex- 
travagances, I  concluded  to  pull  out,  which  I  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  with  my  full  share  of  profits,  which 
augmented  my  capital  considerably.  I  concluded  to 
retire  and  return  to  Boston  by  the  Nicaragua  route, 
where  I  arrived  after  a  stay  of  a  little  less  than  a  year 
in  California. 

The  familiarity  gained  with  the  overflowed  lands 
of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers  led  to  some 
extensive  reclamation  works  of  mine  in  later  years. 


34  Reminiscences  of 

I  established  my  residence  in  Boston  for  a  series 
of  years,  though  I  made  five  round  trips  to  Cali- 
fornia before  i860,  and  have  since  made  those  jour- 
neys over  a  score  of  times,  besides  eighteen  round 
trips  across  the  Atlantic  to  Europe.  I  crossed  the 
great  plains  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains  four  times  from  1865  to  1867,  before  the 
completion  of  a  railroad  there. 

After  my  return  from  California  I  foimd  a  great 
difficulty  in  reconciling  myself  to  the  quiet  of  town 
life,  however  much  the  necessity  existed  for  appli- 
cation to  business  pursuits,  as  my  inclinations  were 
strongly  for  adventurous  ramblings.  Always  a  con- 
stant reader,  I  found  quite  perceptibly  to  myself  that 
my  tendency  was  directed  largely  to  the  perusal  of 
sporting  articles,  which  conflicted  with  my  resolutions 
to  follow  business  affairs.  This  determined  me  to 
give  up  entirely  the  perusal  of  books  treating  of 
sporting  and  adventurous  affairs,  which  inflamed  my 
imagination  with  longings,  and  for  several  years  I 
adhered  strictly  to  this  resolution. 

From  Boston  I  made  frequent  winter  trips  for 
pickerel  fishing  through  the  ice  at  favorite  New  Eng- 
land ponds,  a  sport  which  I  enjoyed  very  much  for 
a  change,  for,  although  the  fishing  was  somewhat  tame, 
the  auxiliaries  of  the  skating,  tramping,  and  lunching 
by  the  open  fires  at  the  pond  sides  gave  a  pleasant 
relaxation.  During  the  summers  I  gave  much  of  my 
time  to  brook  fishing  in  the  White  Mountain  regions, 
where  I  felt  that  I  acquired  a  dexterity  in  trans- 
ferring the  brook -trout  to  my  creel,  after  scoring  from 
three  to  five  hundred  in  a  day's  fishing. 

I  am  almost  ashamed  to  relate  what  I  would  now 


A  Sportsman  35 

shrink  from  doing,  even  if  I  had  the  physical  activity 
to  accomplish  it,  concerning  a  score  that  I  made  one 
day  on  a  branch  of  the  Saco  River.  Then,  before  the 
railroad  invasion  and  the  present  overrunning  of  the 
region  about  Conway  and  Jackson,  the  brooks  were 
alive  with  trout. 

There  had  been  a  rivalry  among  the  comparatively 
few  summer  visitors  as  to  a  day's  catch,  and  I  then 
imdertook  to  make  a  record — a  foolish  effort  of  young 
aspiration,  and  I  will  acknowledge  the  folly  of  such 
actions,  although  the  demand  for  the  delicate  and  tooth- 
some brook-trout  served  to  prevent  any  useless  waste. 
I  camped  over  night  upon  the  stream  with  two  com- 
rades, W.  T.  Bramhall,  of  Boston,  now  deceased,  and 
Gilbert  E.  Jones,  of  New  York,  at  one  time  the  owner 
of  the  New  York  Times  and  an  enthusiastic  sports- 
man, who  also  made  a  great  record  for  the  day.  I 
commenced  fishing  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  fished  fourteen  hours,  until  seven,  scarcely  wait- 
ing for  any  rest  or  lunch,  and  quit  earlier  than  I 
should  have  but  for  a  severe  thunder-storm  which 
wet  us  to  the  skin,  and  whose  vivid  flashes  of  light- 
ning were  required  to  get  us  out  of  the  woods  to 
our  team  at  a  neighboring  town.  My  catch  was 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-eight  trout,  or  an  average 
of  fifty-five  trout  an  hour.  In  verification  we  counted 
over  the  catch  twice  upon  our  return  to  the  Kearsarge 
House,  where  they  were  all  consumed. 

Such  fishing  was  devoid  of  the  pleasant  contem- 
plation of  nature's  attractions,  which  should  be  the 
main  object  of  a  sportsman's  life,  and  an  illustration 
of  the  feverish  excitement  which  too  often  reigns 
within    the    human    breast.      I    will  own  that   many 


36  Reminiscences  of 

times  in  my  early  sporting  life  with  gun  and  rod, 
I  have  overlooked  the  calm  consideration  I  should 
have  given  preference. 

In  1858  I  made  in  the  winter  an  excursion  in 
Maine  to  the  Rangeley  Lakes  near  the  Canada  line, 
which  set  a  color  upon  my  sporting  horizon  which 
has  never  been  effaced,  and  since  that  period  I  have 
never  failed,  amid  the  cares  of  an  active  business  life, 
to  visit  that  region  annually.  Those  trips  at  times 
have  been  difficult  to  arrange  when  I  have  been 
absent  in  distant  places,  but  I  have  not  failed  in  some 
month  of  each  year  since  1858  to  rendezvous  at  the 
Rangeleys  for  from  one  to  four  and  six  months. 

Reports  of  unusually  large  trout  at  those  lakes 
had  reached  me  for  a  year  or  two  before  the  trip  in 
December  of  1858,  and  some  question  existed  if  those 
trout  were  of  the  Fontinalis  species,  as  they  had  not 
been  so  designated  by  a  competent  ichth3^ologist.  I 
arranged  with  three  friends  equally  interested  in  the 
subject  for  an  excursion  there,  and  after  two  days 
from  leaving  the  Grand  Trunk  Railroad,  breaking 
otir  way  with  team  for  forty  miles  through  the  snow, 
we  arrived  at  one  of  the  lakes  of  the  chain.  The 
last  half  of  the  distance  through  the  forest  was  over 
an  old  logging  road  which  had  not  been  broken  out 
that  season,  over  which  our  progress  was  slow. 

It  was  about  dark  when  we  installed  ourselves  in 
a  dilapidated  old  logging  camp  at  the  foot  of  the 
lake,  and  the  following  day  proceeded  over  the  ice 
and  its  accumulated  snow  for  a  distance  of  six  miles, 
camping  at  and  making  headquarters  in  a  compara- 
tively good  logging  camp  by  the  shore.  We  had 
a  single  horse   "pung"  which  we  retained,   sending 


A  Sportsman  37 

back  to  the  last  settlement,  twenty  miles  distant,  our 
double  team  sled,  after  depleting  it  of  our  personal 
effects,  provisions,  guns,  lines,  etc.,  with  instructions 
to  return  for  us  in  ten  days.  We  had  two  guides, 
one  of  whom,  Milton  Cutting,  for  thirty-three  years 
afterwards  regularly  accompanied  me  in  all  my  trips 
to  the  lakes,  until  his  advancing  years  compelled 
his  retirement  thirteen  years  ago,  but  is  still  living 
at  about  eighty  years  of  age  upon  his  small  farm ;  I  have 
since  contributed  to  him  the  yearly  sum  of  dollars  equal 
to  his  age,  and  he  has  frequently  remarked  to  me  the 
increasing  interest  he  has  taken  in  growing  old. 

The  ice  was  thick,  but  we  soon  got  through  it 
with  our  chisels,  and  in  retired  coves  we  caught  bait 
of  chubs  and  shiners,  which  equipped  our  set  lines, 
and  we  foimd  trout  enough  to  enable  us  to  fetch  out 
upon  our  return  to  civilized  regions  between  five  and 
six  hundred  pounds  in  a  frozen  state  to  dispense 
among  our  friends. 

Frozen  fish  in  the  ordinary  sense  is  not  usually 
acceptable,  for  one  cannot  tell  how  long  it  may  have 
been  between  catching  and  freezing,  or  how  effectual 
the  freezing  was,  or  if  there  may  not  have  been 
a  thawing  out  and  refreezing,  or  exposure  to  sun 
while  frozen,  or  various  other  causes  affecting  the 
quality.  But  any  fish  well  frozen  immediately  after 
catching,  and  so  kept  without  exposure  to  sun, 
and  slowly  thawed  out  in  water  in  a  cool  place,  will 
be  found  to  retain  all  the  delicate  qualities  of  fresh 
life  despite  all  prejudices  to  the  contrary.  In  fact 
with  care  the  most  delicate  fish,  being  cold-blooded, 
can  be  frozen  up  before  life  has  gone,  and  so  kept 
frozen  for  a  period  of  days  and  then  be  thawed  out 


38  Reminiscences  of 

to  active  life  again,  which  I  have  often  clearly  dem- 
onstrated, but  of  which  I  shall  not  here  go  into  de- 
tails, reserving  that  feature  for  more  particular  men- 
tion and  details  of  in  extenso  which  will  be  included 
in  the  chapters  I  shall  hereafter  give  concerning  trout 
and  its  habits. 

We  fovmd  the  trout  plentiful  and  in  fine  condition, 
as  they  are  apt  to  be  in  favorable  waters  beneath  the 
ice  in  the  month  of  December.  In  that  month  in 
northern  climes  they  are  in  good  form,  and  also  in 
Jantiary,  although  from  February  and  through  March 
and  April  they  are  more  sluggish,  and  very  many  go 
down  to  a  depth  and  even  into  the  soft  mud  at  the 
bottom  of  the  lake,  where  they  remain  in  a  semi- 
dormant  condition,  and  those  which  continue  to 
circulate  about  are  by  March  comparatively  slow 
in  movement  and  appetite.  As  the  weather  moder- 
ates in  April  more  activity  is  shown,  and  in  May, 
when  the  ice  generally  goes  out  of  the  Maine  north- 
em  lakes  by  the  early  part  or  the  middle  of  the  month, 
they  are  again  in  full  activity. 

The  same  semi -dormant  feature  is  shown  in  all 
the  varieties  of  the  small  fry  of  minnows  and  chubs, 
which  can  be  plentifully  caught  with  a  small  hook 
for  bait  for  a  few  weeks  after  the  ice  makes,  and  in 
fact  seem  more  plentiful  after  the  first  freezing  over 
than  at  any  time;  almost  wholly  disappearing  by 
March,  and  so  difficult  have  I  found  it  in  the  latter 
month  to  get  live  bait  at  the  lakes  that  I  have  had  to 
send  out  twenty  or  thirty  miles  at  times  to  get  bait 
from  spring  holes  in  the  adjoining  country.  Then  a 
good  bait  would  be  almost  equivalent  to  a  trout. 

I   have   found  that   for  the  first  week  after  the 


A  Sportsman  39 

freezing  over  of  the  lake,  when  the  fresh  ice  would 
not  be  more  than  two  inches  in  thickness,  phenom- 
enal catches  could  be  made  of  trout,  as  they  would 
seem  to  be  exhilarated  by  the  new  condition  as  much 
as  lads  would  be  with  fresh  skating.  After  ten  or 
twelve  days  a  noticeable  falling  off  in  activity  and 
feeding  occurs,  which  continues  to  increase  until 
warmer  weather  comes. 

We  kept  a  careful  weight  of  all  ovu-  trout,  noting 
down  our  catch  each  night,  and  we  found  our  average 
to  be  one  and  a  third  pounds ;  our  largest  trout  weigh- 
ing a  fraction  over  eight,  and  our  smallest  were  a 
quarter  of  a  pound.  Upon  our  return  to  Boston  I 
carried  out  several  of  the  largest  to  Louis  Agassiz, 
the  distinguished  naturalist  and  scientist,  then  living 
at  Cambridge  at  the  head  of  the  Museum  of  Compar- 
ative Zoology,  who  made  careful  examination  and 
proncninced  them  of  the  true  Fontinalis  family,  but 
gave  them  a  distinctiveness  over  other  trout  from 
their  large  size  and  habitat. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  more  beautiful  and 
perfect  trout  than  those  of  the  Rangeley  waters,  or 
any  of  higher  game  qualities.  At  all  seasons  of  the 
year  they  are  full  and  superior  in  flavor  excepting 
the  meagre  milters  in  the  autumn,  who  may  be  well 
discarded  from  the  table  despite  their  brilliant  hues. 
But  the  spawners  even  up  to  the  time  of  their 
emissions  are  of  delicate  taste.  I  have  since  1858 
yearly  fished  these  lakes,  and  taken  many  thou- 
sands of  trout  there,  and  have  found  them  in  the 
qualities  I  have  designated  more  uniform  than  from 
any  other  waters,  although  no  shadow  can  be  cast 
upon  many  other  localities. 


40  Reminiscences  of 

Maine  is  famous  for  its  rivers,  lakes,  and  ponds, 
which  cover  nearly  one  tenth  of  its  surface.  Its 
waters  are  mainly  clear  from  excess  of  organic  matter, 
where  fish  life  is  conspicuous  for  game  qualities, 
which  I  have  evidenced  from  personal  experience 
at  several  score  of  localities  in  that  State.  It  is 
not  essential  that  trout  waters  should  be  of  high 
translucent  character  as  ordinarily  supposed,  and  I 
have  observed  that  trout  waters  of  that  character 
are  generally  lacking  in  numbers  and  size  of  trout 
compared  with  those  more  opaque  and  plentiful  with 
infusorial  life.  The  protozoa  element  is  the  basic 
fovmdation  of  fish  life,  and  possibly  of  all  other. 
It  consists  of  an  endless  variety  of  Poligastrica  and 
Rotatoria,  white  pulpy  substances  of  life,  which  in 
favorable  waters  are  of  pin-head  size,  while  the  bulk 
are  invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  This  infusorial  ele- 
ment is  the  primary  constituent  essential  to  young 
fish  life.  The  young  trout  or  salmon,  when  relieved 
of  the  umbilical  sac,  is  of  minute  proportions,  and  is 
unable  to  live  tipon  the  surface  ephemera  or  food  of 
after  life,  and  subsists  wholly  upon  the  infusoria,  as 
do  all  the  small  fry  generally  designated  as  minnows, 
of  which  there  are  a  dozen  varieties  in  the  Rangeley 
waters.  It  is  also  the  principal  food  of  the  fresh- 
water smelts. 

The  profusion  of  small  fish  in  the  lakes  supplying 
the  principal  food  of  the  trout  and  salmon  accounts 
for  their  number  and  superiority,  without  which  they 
would  be  lacking,  so  that  in  reality  the  ]M-iinitive 
cause  is  the  infusorial  element.  This  element  abounds 
in  all  ponds,  lakes,  rivers,  and  even  ditches  where 
decaying  vegetable  and  animal  matter  exists,  and  in 


A  Sportsman  41 

covintless  profusion.  It  is  found  in  thermal  springs, 
and  rivulets  flowing  from  snow-banks  and  glaciers, 
and  in  salt  as  well  as  fresh  water.  No  form  of  life 
can  be  more  universal  and  extensive,  while  of  so 
minute  a  character  in  the  sea  and  in  many  fresh 
waters  as  to  require  the  strongest  magnifying  j)ower 
to  clearly  observe.  Even  distilled  water,  upon  ex- 
posure to  the  air,  mil  exhibit  the  life.  Freezing 
does  not  destroy  it,  nor  will  a  deprivation  of  its  watery 
element.  It  may  be  dried  in  the  stm  for  many  days, 
but  its  germ  form  when  drifted  with  the  dust  to 
reviving  waters  will  again  take  on  active  life.  Ehren- 
berg,  a  celebrated  German  authority  upon  the  subject, 
estimates  the  reproduction  capacity  of  a  single  one  to 
exceed  200,000,000  in  the  space  of  a  month.  The 
variety  of  infusoria  is  extensive,  more  than  a  himdred 
being  classified. 

The  remarkable  feature  of  this  element  in  the 
Rangeley  Lakes,  which  by  no  means  is  limited  to 
these  waters,  is  the  comparatively  large  size  of  the 
infusoria,  which  is  undoubtedly  gained  by  the  large 
quantities  of  vegetable  stain  from  the  adjoining 
forests.  The  water  is  by  no  means  clear,  occasioned 
by  the  excess  drainage  from  the  woods.  On  a  favor- 
able day,  with  the  sun's  rays  aslant,  the  protozoa 
element  is  clearly  discernible  to  the  naked  eye.  The 
most  favorable  occasion  for  observing  it  without 
magnifying  power — for  I  have  never  applied  the 
latter — is  in  the  winter  at  the  surface  of  a  hole  cut 
through  the  ice.  Here,  after  a  day  or  two,  the  larger 
infusoria  will  collect,  doubtless  attracted  by  the  light, 
when  those  of  a  large  size  will  be  observed. 

On  this  my  first  trip  in  the  winter  to  the  lake  I 


42  Reminiscences  of 

was  attracted  by  this  feature  while  playing  with 
trout  through  the  ice.  I  would  select  a  good  locality 
where  the  water  was  not  over  eight  or  nine  feet  in 
depth,  with  a  sandy  bottom.  Lying  upon  some 
blankets,  with  a  single  one  over  my  head,  and  a  hook- 
less  line  with  a  small  chub  tied  at  the  end  and  a 
sufficient  sinker,  I  would  bob  for  the  trout,  which  after 
a  while  wotdd  come  swimming  along,  and,  noticing 
the  bait,  would,  first  indifferently,  but  afterwards  more 
vigorously,  engage  with  it.  By  drawing  away  the 
bait  at  the  critical  moment,  after  considerable  teasing 
the  trout  would  follow  it  up,  and  having  a  fair-sized 
hole  of  something  less  than  a  foot  sqtiare,  I  would 
shortly  get  the  trout  up  near  the  bottom  ice,  and  finally, 
at  a  last  excited  dash,  rapidly  withdraw  the  bait  en- 
tirely, with  my  hand  at  my  side.  The  trout,  following 
to  the  surface  in  its  excitement,  would  for  a  moment 
be  too  confused  to  dive  below,  giving  me  in  that 
moment  the  opportunity  to  rapidly  put  my  hands 
below  and  cast  him  out  upon  the  ice,  unharmed,  but 
much  alarmed.  This  may  appear  difficult  to  do,  but 
is  really  quite  simple,  and  I  have  taken  four  or  five 
trout  in  a  forenoon  from  a  single  hole  in  this  manner. 
The  clear,  sandy  bottom,  and  the  thin  blanket  head 
cover,  which  by  no  means  excluded  the  light,  gave 
abvmdant  opportunity  to  observe  that  the  white 
specks  at  first  mistaken  for  pollen,  or  other  foreign 
intrusion,  had  a  motion  equal  to  several  inches  in 
a  short  time,  and  could  be  observed  in  the  still  water 
moving  in  various  directions,  some  apparently  with 
a  revolving  motion,  and  others  without  visible  ac- 
tion. Many  have  advanced  the  spontaneity  or  pro- 
toplasm theory  concerning  the  protozoa,  which  is  a 


A  Sportsman  43 

subject  of  much  discussion,  and  lately  a  prominent 
German  savant  has  advanced  the  theory  that  this 
element  is  the  primitive  origin  of  all  life — all  vege- 
table and  animal — which  now  exists  upon  the  earth. 
This  is  a  somewhat  startling  theory,  but  that  life  must 
necessarily  have  started  upon  this  once  molten  mass 
in  a  very  primitive  form  is  clearly  evident,  but  how, 
may  or  may  not  be  solved. 

The  snow  was  between  two  and  three  feet  deep 
at  the  period  of  otir  visit,  with  frequent  new  falls, 
and  I  amused  myself  by  making  snow-shoe  excursions 
in  the  forest  about  the  lake. 


ONE  day  I  came  across  the  footprints  of  an  ani- 
mal, evidently  of  more  magnitude  than  those 
made  by  a  deer,  and  upon  brushing  out  the  tracks  I 
fovmd  the  imprint  evidently  of  a  cow  or  ox.  I  related 
this  to  the  guides,  and  observed  their  immediate 
fixed  attention  and  interest.  They  informed  me  no 
cow  or  ox  could  be  found  in  the  region  about,  and 
that  I  had  certainly  fovmd  a  moose  track,  which  we 
could  easily  trail,  for  he  could  not  be  many  miles  off, 
and  that  we  would  go  after  him  the  next  day. 

With  lunch  in  our  pockets  we  started  at  an  early 
hour,  fully  prepared  for  a  brush  with  a  monarch  of  the 
northern  woods.  An  examination  of  the  tracks  speed- 
ily determined  the  direction  to  take,  and  we  had  no 
difficulty  in  following  them,  although  a  foot  of  snow 
had  fallen  since  the  passage  of  the  moose — for  the 
tracks  clearly  indicated  such  to  be  the  maker  of 
the  tell-tale  guides.     My   men   said  his  escape  was 


44  Reminiscences  of 

impossible,  it  being  only  a  question  of  time  and  dis- 
tance, and  that  it  would'  not  travel  far  in  the  deep 
snow,  over  which  we  would  proceed  with  little  fatigue. 
It  was  some  hours,  however,  before  we  grew  warm  on 
the  trail,  and  about  noon  before  we  reached  a  place  in 
the  black  growth  where  the  moose  had  apparently 
yarded  for  several  days,  from  which  he  had  broken 
out  upon  our  approach,  before  we  saw  him.  At 
this  time  we  redoubled  our  speed,  and  in  less  than  a 
mile  brought  him  at  bay  where  the  snow  was  too  heav'y 
for  his  further  rapid  progress.  Here  the  moose  broke 
down  the  snow  about  him  to  give  himself  foot  room, 
and  stood  facing  us  in  defiance.  It  was  an  exciting 
moment,  and  taking  as  careful  aim  as  I  could,  I  fired 
at  his  front.  My  shot  seemed  to  have  little  effect,  for, 
instead  of  breaking  away,  he  commenced  to  increase 
his  circle  of  enclosure,  about  which  he  moved  with 
alacrity  foreboding  possible  harm  if  he  should  charge 
us,  and  we  each  sought  the  shelter  of  neighboring  trees 
to  be  prepared  for  his  possible  advance,  and  from 
here  I  gave  a  shot  which  brought  him  down  on 
his  knees,  from  which  he  soon  toppled  over,  and  the 
end  came.  It  was  a  large  bull  and  in  good  flesh, 
but  bereft  of  horns,  which  had  been  lately  shed. 
Skinning  and  dressing  him,  we  hung  up  all  to  freeze 
excepting  a  hind  quarter  and  a  few  parts  which  my 
men  dragged  on  an  improvised  sled  to  camp.  The 
following  day  the  men  returned  for  the  balance, 
making  two  trips,  and  were  enabled  to  portage  all 
to  camp  on  the  long  packing  sled  with  which  we 
were  provided,  but  attended  with  much  labor.  We 
were  three  miles  from  camp,  and  did  not  arrive  until 
some  time  after  sundown. 


A  Sportsman  45 

No  legal  restrictions  aflfecting  moose  or  deer  ex- 
isted in  Maine  at  that  time,  or  if  there  were  any, 
no  attention  was  given,  but  game  laws  of  late  years 
have  been  rigidly  guarded  by  wardens,  under  extreme 
penalties.  Despite  wardens  and  penalties,  however, 
quite  a  sprinkling  of  killing  has  annually  occurred 
in  remote  districts;  but  the  general  protection  af- 
forded, and  the  prohibition  of  market  game  selling, 
has  had  a  very  salutary  result  in  increasing  big  game, 
especially  deer. 

Moose  still  are  found  about  the  lakes,  in  a  forest 
yet  unbroken  which  extends  far  into  the  wilder- 
ness. Though  still  scarce,  they  have  of  late  increased, 
owing  to  the  rigid  enforcement  of  laws  restricting 
their  killing  to  a  very  short  period  during  the  year. 
A  penalty  of  S500  is  exacted  for  this  killing  out  of 
season.  The  killing  of  caribou  is  entirely  prohibited 
at  any  time.  Moose  killing,  when  permitted,  is  con- 
fined wholly  to  biills  beyond  two  years  of  age.  It 
has  always  seemed  to  me  as  if  the  moose  were  a 
modem  survival  of  the  ancient  period,  to  be  linked 
with  the  Irish  elk  and  mastodon,  and  other  prehistoric 
animals,  and  most  likely  with  the  musk  ox,  elephant, 
giraffe,  and  other  unwieldy,  cumbrous  creations  doomed 
to  disappear  before  the  progress  of  man,  as  we  have 
seen  the  buffalo  in  our  day. 

I  note  quite  recently  the  approaching  extinction 
of  the  great  Kadiak  bear  of  Alaska — the  largest  in  the 
world,  exceeding  even  the  mammoth  grizzly  of  the 
Sierras, — which,  inhabiting  a  limited  district  about 
the  estuaries  of  the  Karluk  River,  where  within 
a  few  years  as  many  as  fifteen  were  sighted  by  an 
observer  in  one  day,  are  now  difficult  to  sight  at  all, 


46  Reminiscences  of 

and  have  by  last  accounts  had  their  comparatively 
limited  tract  invaded  by  the  ever-penetrating  do- 
mestic sheep. 

A  conflict  is  now  on  between  the  sheep  men  and 
the  bears.  The  latter  evincing  their  taste  for  mutton 
in  the  waiting  season  for  salmon — their  main  food — 
have  arousedt  he  former  in  defence,  and  the  almost 
inevitable  .result  will  be  extermination.  A  friend 
of  mine  has  in  his  possession  a  Kadiak  bear  skin  of 
enormous  proportions,  measuring  from  nose  to  end 
of  body  nine  feet,  with  a  width  in  the  middle  of  eight 
feet.  This  may  be  a  champion  brown  bear  skin,  and 
from  one  which  was  estimated,  although  not  au- 
thenticated by  sufficient  evidence,  at  2400  pounds. 

I  have  measured  an  enormous  polar  bear  skin 
which  measured  about  the  size  of  the  Kadiak  skin, 
but  the  polar  bear  does  reach  the  weight  of  the  grizzly 
family,  being  more  sinuous  in  form. 

I  would  not  now  hunt  and  kill  moose  in  the  snow, 
and  at  this  time  I  look  upon  it  with  regret  and  con- 
sider it  unworthy  of  selection  by  a  sportsman  unless 
necessitated  by  need  of  food,  and  confess  to  having 
aided  in  killing  two  others  in  a  similar  manner,  as 
well  as  deer.  There  are  many  things  in  later  life  I 
have  to  regret  of  acts  in  early  days,  as  I  doubt  not 
others  have.  Youth  is  more  eager  and  thoughtless, 
and  less  governed  by  reflection  than  age,  as  eagerness 
overtops  reason,  and  I  fear  there  are  many  of  mature 
age  who  fail  to  recognize  the  claims  of  right  over 
inborn  selfishness  and  destructive  impulses. 

I  have  occasionally  met  moose  in  the  Maine  woods. 
One  day  in  a  birch  canoe,  rounding  a  point  on  the 
Megalloway  River,  we   ran  close   upon    a   large   cow 


A  Sportsman  47 

feeding  on  the  lily  pads,  with  her  calf  on  the  shore. 
She  was  just  raising  her  head  with  a  mouthful  of 
pads,  and  stood  motionless  for  a  few  moments  gaz- 
ing at  our  sudden  intrusion,  and  then  leisurely  moved 
to  the  shore  and  with  her  offspring  quietly  disap- 
peared in  the  woods.  Another  day,  while  being  driven 
on  a  buckboard  from  the  lake  over  a  long  logging  road, 
and  some  miles  from  any  settlement,  we  encountered 
a  large  bull  feeding  by  the  roadside.  He  exhibited  no 
alarm,  trotted  along  the  road  ahead  of  us  for  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  and  finally  turned  and  faced  us  from  the 
centre  of  the  road.  As  the  rutting  season  was  on,  and 
occasions  were  not  rare  when  at  that  season  moose  had 
attacked  teams,  we  came  to  a  halt.  Our  horses 
exhibited  alarm,  and  we  felt  some  ourselves,  and 
looked  about  for  tree  shelter  in  case  of  a  charge.  But 
the  moose  relieved  us  in  a  few  moments  by  side-track- 
ing in  the  woods,  leaving  us  a  free  road.  Another  day 
I  came  upon  a  bull  in  the  closed  season  for  moose, 
but  an  open  one  for  deer  stalking,  which  I  was 
engaged  in,  when  the  attitude  of  the  bull  convinced 
me  of  the  prudence  of  retreating,  which  I  expedited 
without  delay. 

It  is  quite  common  for  bull  moose  at  certain  sea- 
sons to  charge  any  one  met  with  in  the  woods,  but 
they  are  more  easily  evaded  by  one  active  of  foot 
than  one  would  suppose,  by  dodging  around  trees, 
and  especially  windfalls  if  they  are  adjacent,  and 
I  know  several  hunters  who  have  escaped  such  at- 
tacks, and  in  some  instances  have  been  treed  for 
hours.  Moose  have  been  known  to  swim  out  in 
the  water  and  upset  boats  which  have  excited  their 
resentment. 


48  Reminiscences  of 

A  few  years  ago  a  friend  of  mine,  Captain  Barker, 
while  rtmning  his  steamer  across  a  lake,  observed  a 
large  bull  swimming  ahead  for  the  shore,  upon  which 
he  ran  his  boat  up,  and  skilfully  threw  a  noosed 
rope  over  the  bull's  horns,  and  conducted  him  to 
the  shore,  where,  after  some  manoeuvring,  he  man- 
aged to  secure  the  end  of  the  rope  to  a  tree,  and  held 
the  moose  there  for  several  days.  He  indicated  a 
very  fierce  disposition,  refusing  to  eat,  and  charging  to 
the  end  of  his  reach  any  who  approached  his  vicinity. 
After  a  few  days'  captivity  he  was  released  by  cutting 
his  rope  with  a  knife  fastened  to  a  long  pole,  and 
the  moose  went  off  with  his  head-works  adorned 
with  a  dangling  tie  of  doubtful  comeliness. 

As  I  was  engaged  one  morning  on  my  first  trip 
to  the  lakes  attending  alone  a  few  set  lines,  I  was 
startled  in  looking  up  to  see  three  deer  standing  not 
far  from  me  on  the  ice,  but  presently,  after  satisfy- 
ing their  curiosity,  they  trotted  off  into  the  woods 
below  me.  After  my  success  with  the  moose,  I  was 
excited  for  a  chase  after  the  deer,  as  the  snow  was 
favorable,  and  leaving  my  lines  I  returned  to  camp 
a  mile  distant,  when,  securing  my  gun,  hatchet,  and 
a  pocketful  of  lunch,  I  started  back  alone  for  the 
trail.  No  one  was  at  camp  but  the  cook,  whom  I 
told  to  mention  to  my  comrades  that  I  was  off  on  a 
hunt,  and  to  have  no  anxiety  if  I  did  not  return  at 
night.  I  returned  to  the  trail  from  the  lake,  and 
followed  the  deer. 

The  days  were  then  short,  and  the  deer  had  travelled 
better  than  I  expected  they  would,  and  it  was  near 
dark  before  I  came  near  enough  to  get  in  a  shot, 
which  was  harmless,  while  the}-  were  moving  on  with 


A  Sportsman  49 

a  speed  increased  by  my  near  approach.  If  it  had 
been  earlier  in  the  day  my  method  would  have  been 
to  press  them  to  the  utmost,  but  it  was  too  late,  and 
I  had  to  look  around  for  a  camping  spot,  which  I 
selected  by  a  large  dead  fallen  pine  partly  imbedded 
in  the  snow,  but  having  limbs  to  pull  upon  for  fuel. 
It  was  bitterly  cold,  as  it  had  been  growing  colder  all 
day,  and  somewhat  below  zero,  as  I  found  upon  my 
return  to  camp.  My  hatchet  was  a  poor  substitute 
for  an  axe,  but  I  managed  to  pile  up  a  good  supply 
for  my  night  fire,  but  which  proved  insufficient  before 
morning,  and  at  three  o'clock  I  had  again  to  supply 
more  wood,  but  considering  it  was  the  first  night's 
camping  in  the  snow,  which  generally  is  not  so  com- 
fortable as  the  following,  I  got  along  by  the  fire  pretty 
well,  though  not  overburdened  with  sleep,  and  I  felt 
quite  ready  to  go  on  as  soon  as  the  first  glimmerings  of 
light  appeared. 

I  foimd  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  where  the  deer 
had  lain  down  in  the  night,  and  the  beds  had  not 
frozen  where  they  had  rested,  which  was  very  en- 
couraging, showing  that  their  departure  had  but 
briefly  preceded  my  arrival.  They,  however,  got 
along  better  than  I  expected,  and  more  than  an 
hour  passed  before  I  overtook  them,  which  was  a 
signal  for  them  to  divide,  as  they  usually  do  when 
hard  pressed.  Selecting  the  largest  one  I  followed 
it  for  a  mile  or  so  before  I  brought  him  up,  which 
proved  to  be  a  pretty  good-sized  buck,  which  I  quickly 
gave  the  quietus  to  from  my  rifle.  Giving  the  finishing 
stroke  with  my  knife,  I  disembowelled  him,  hanging 
him  up  to  freeze,  and  followed  my  trail  back  to  the 
lake,  between  four  and  five  miles.      It  was  a  bright, 


50  Reminiscences  of 

cold  morning,  and  my  steps  were  light  from  elation 
at  my  success,  and  I  inwardly  \'owed  I  would  have 
more  of  it. 

That  following  night  was  the  coldest  we  experi- 
enced on  our  trip,  the  mercury  sinking  down  to  twenty- 
six  degrees  below  zero,  but  we  were  very  comfortable. 

It  is  not  so  cold  as  it  would  seem,  in  the  dry  alti- 
tude of  the  lakes,  1500  feet  above  sea  level,  at  twenty 
degrees  below  zero,  when  top  coats  are  discarded 
in  the  woods  and  on  the  lake  when  knocking  about. 
But  when  the  wind  blows  it  is  another  matter,  and 
even  with  a  gentle  breeze  at  twenty  degrees  of  freezing 
it  will  cut,  and  with  a  gale  or  blizzard  at  fifteen  or 
twenty  degrees  below  zero — which  is  not  infrequent — 
one  must  be  well  housed,  or,  if  not,  snugly  ensconced 
in  the  lee  of  the  gale  in  a  deep  sunken  pit  in  the  snow 
with  plenty  of  firewood. 

When  camping  out  in  the  snow  one  hardly  needs 
blankets,  and  it  has  not  been  my  habit  to  pack 
them  in  many  camping-out  trips  I  have  made  in  the 
winter,  excepting  sometimes  a  half  one.  I  have  de- 
pended upon  keeping  up  a  good  fire  all  night,  and 
of  sleeping  on  a  thick  layer  of  hemlock  boughs, 
where  with  feet  to  the  fire  and  fully  clothed,  with 
sleeping-cap  and  ear-pads  and  thick  woollen  gloves, 
I  have  passed  many  comfortable  nights,  and  my 
memory  now  often  vividly  reverts  to  the  overflowing 
happiness  I  experienced  upon  those  excursions  as  the 
most  enjoyable  of  my  life. 


A  Sportsman  51 

IN  California,  short  as  my  stay  was,  I  made  some 
friends  with  whom  for  many  years  afterwards  I 
sustained  pleasant  relations,  all  of  whom  have  now 
passed  away.  It  was  in  San  Francisco  I  met  Edwin 
Booth,  at  the  rooms  of  a  fencing  master,  where  we 
were  both  receiving  instructions,  and  formed  a  friend- 
ship with  him  which  continued  through  his  life.  His 
father,  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  then  near  sixty  years 
of  age,  was  playing  the  last  engagement  of  his  life  at 
the  American  theatre,  and  died  that  year,  soon  after, 
on  a  Mississippi  River  steamer.  Edwin  at  that  time 
had  not  appeared  on  the  stage,  excepting  in  a  few 
minor  parts,  and  I  accompanied  him  at  his  invitation 
several  times  to  witness  the  performances  of  his  father. 
The  latter  was  then  exhibiting  the  peculiarities  of  his 
disposition,  bordering  on  insanity,  and  accentuated 
by  his  over-indulgence  in  spirituous  liquors.  One  night 
while  playing  Richard  III.  with  his  accustomed  energy 
and  fire,  he  left  the  stage  and  strode  into  a  lower  box 
adjoining,  which  was  empty,  and  commenced  singing 
a  bacchanalian  song  to  the  boisterous  admiration  of 
the  audience.  Edwin,  much  chagrined,  left  my  side 
for  his  father,  whom  he  persuaded  to  retire,  and 
after  awhile  to  go  on  with  his  part  in  the  play. 

Another  evening  performance  was  the  occasion  of 
an  amusing  incident  in  one  of  the  second-tier  boxes 
occupied  by  a  man  and  woman.  The  attention  of  the  au- 
dience was  drawn  by  the  bibulous  attentions  of  the 
man,  evidently  a  returned  miner  with  dust,  and  whose 
companion  indicated  her  classification  with  the  fanciful 
order ;  and'  she  seemed  also  imder  the  effects  of  infla- 
tion. This  side-play  had  been  apparent  for  some  time, 
while  the  actors  were  quite  oblivious  of  the  amused 


52  Reminiscences  of 

attention  they  were  attracting.  This  became  so  conspic- 
uous that  finally  Booth  paused  in  the  midst  of  the  part 
he  was  playing,  and,  advancing  toward  the  box  and 
pointing  his  hand  toward  it,  said,  in  his  dramatic  man- 
ner, which  brought  down  the  house:  "When  this  side- 
play  is  over,  we  will  proceed."  It  required  a  little  time 
for  the  audience  to  settle  down  to  the  regular  bill  of 
the  evening,  while  the  box  players  retired  from  the 
front  to  the  obscurity  of  the  rear. 

I  did  not  see  Edwin  again  until  a  number  of  years 
had  passed,  when  he  had  become  famous,  meeting 
him  at  the  Tremont  House  in  Boston,  where  I  was 
residing,  and  there  became  acquainted  with  his  wife, 
his  mother,  and  sister  Rosalie,  and  his  brothers, 
John  Wilkes  and  Joseph.  John  Wilkes  Booth,  after- 
ward so  infamous  as  the  assassin  of  our  President 
Lincoln,  appeared  to  me  as  very  companionable  and 
cheerful,  and  many  pleasant  smokes  I  had  with  him, 
Uttle  suspecting  that  he  would  achieve  the  infamous 
notoriety  he  did.  Though  having  some  extrava- 
gant and  peculiar  ways,  they  were  less  conspicuous 
than  those  which  Edwin  evinced,  or  those  seen  in 
two  others  of  the  family.  There  was,  however,  a  strain 
of  peculiarity  in  the  children,  doubtless  inherited  from 
the  father,  which  was  quite  evident.  But  if  I  had 
been  asked  to  designate  one  of  the  children  most  free 
and  sensible,  I  should  have  given  John  Wilkes,  for 
despite  his  somewhat  rollicking  and  moderately  reck- 
less way,  he  seemed  very  sensible.  He  was  then 
playing  an  engagement,  as  was  Edwin,  in  the  city. 
Both  were  handsome  and  attractive,  and  received 
many  missives  from  the  gentler  sex,  who  admired 
them.     To  those  Edwin  gave  little  attention,  not  only 


A  Sportsman  53 

from  having  married  a  few  months  before,  but  from 
a  disinclination  and  principle,  as  he  on  several  occa- 
sions remarked  to  me,  and  that  he  immediately  de- 
stroyed such  letters,  excepting  in  some  instances, 
when  he  returned  them  with  sensible  advice  to  desist. 

One  evening  while  we  were  all  after  dinner  in  the 
Booths'  sitting-room,  a  card  was  brought  in  from  a 
young  lady  who  requested  an  interview  with  Edwin. 
He  smiled  and  told  the  boy  to  say  he  was  engaged, 
when  his  wife,  amused,  said: 

"No;  let  her  come  up.  I  am  anxious  to  see  what 
kind  of  young  ladies  are  after  you,  and  how  she  will 
appear  with  us  all  here." 

So  the  yoimg  lady  was  brought  up — and  a  bloom- 
ing, exuberant  young  lass  she  was — ushered  in, 
holding  a  large  bouquet  for  Edwin.  She  was  com- 
pletely staggered  by  the  standing  committee  which 
received  her,  and  it  was  rather  distressing  to  see 
her  confusion  and  awkward  dilemma  and  hear  her 
choking  words,  that  she  had  "brought  the  bouquet 
for  Mr.  Booth."  Edwin  accepted  the  flowers,  and 
thanked  her,  at  which  she  retired,  with  an  experience 
unlooked  for. 

From  Boston  we  all,  including  Walter  M.  Brackett, 
the  celebrated  artist,  his  wife,  and  young  son, — except- 
ing John  Wilkes, — made  an  excursion  to  the  Umbagog 
Lake  in  New  Hampshire,  stopping  at  a  moderate -sized 
hotel  at  Upton,  kept  by  S.  F.  Frost.  I  remember  his 
initials  distinctly  because  we  called  him  Superfine,  at 
which  he  would  give  a  winning  smile.  Dan  Setchell, 
a  comic  actor  and  a  particular  friend  of  Edwin's, 
accompanied  us;  also  some  Baltimore  friends  of  Ed- 
win's— a   gentleman   and   his  not   long-wedded   wife. 


54  Reminiscences  of 

We  remained  at  Upton  about  two  weeks  and  had  a 
merry  time,  making  excursions  on  the  lake  to  fishing 
places  on  an  old  tub  of  a  boat  which  towed  logs, 
proudly  commanded  by  Captain  Bennett,  who  had 
acted  as  guide  in  the  woods  with  me  on  several  occa- 
sions, and  who  now  approached  work  about  as  near 
as  he  ever  allowed  himself.  We  made  picnic  trips 
to  neighboring  brooks,  and  altogether  had  an  enjoy- 
able season.  Dan  Setchell,  a  most  amusing  comic 
actor  of  good  taste,  never  allowed  the  hours  to  flag, 
and  the  practical  jokes  he  perpetrated  are  beyond 
recotmt.  Poor  Dan — ^iinknown  to  present  fame — ^was 
lost  at  sea  not  long  afterwards,  his  ship  going  down 
in  a  gale  with  all  on  board. 

Even  then,  the  anti-liquor  movement  in  Maine  had 
commenced,  and  spirituous  fluids  were  restricted  from 
sale,  but  our  landlord.  Superfine,  kept  a  private  stock, 
limited,  however,  to  one  kind,  and  that  was  gin,  which 
he  had — of  probably  doubtful  quality — in  his  cellar. 
Setchell  made  the  discovery,  and  upon  request  Super- 
fine brought  up  a  medium-sized  pitcher  full,  and  placed 
it  on  the  sitting-room  table.  The  pitcher  was  a  glass 
one,  and  had  an  appearance  of  containing  the  limpid 
fluid  of  the  well.  Booth  had  not  yet  come  in,  and  Dan 
immediately  conceived  the  idea  of  putting  up  a  joke 
on  him,  as  he  would  be  likely  to  join  in  a  pull  on  a  some- 
what neglected  line.  Obtaining  an  empty  bottle  he 
poured  a  portion  of  the  gin  into  it,  leaving  the  balance 
in  the  pitcher,  and  calling  in  Booth  informed  him  of  the 
discovered  essence  of  juniper,  and  having  lemon  and 
sugar  at  hand  prepared  a  gin  toddy  for  good  old  times. 
We  watered  our  toddies  from  an  adjacent  supply, 
leaving  Booth  to  fill  his  from  the  pitcher  on  the  table, 


A  Sportsman  55 

which  led  him  from  the  first  taste  to  denounce  the 
strength  of  his  portion  and  to  add  more  from  the 
pitcher,  filhng  his  glass  nearly  to  its  brim.  We  had 
a  difficulty  in  concealing  our  hilarity,  while  Booth, 
with  a  wry  face,  bolted  the  greater  part  of  his  glass, 
and  declared  by  the  horns  of  the  sacred  bull  that  if 
liquor  restrictions  in  Maine  resulted  in  yielding  liquors 
of  the  strength  of  ours,  there  was  still  a  balm  in 
Gilead.  Pretty  soon  he  gave  us  a  hornpipe  jig  in 
double  time,  and  discovered  our  excess  of  mirth,  which 
no  longer  had  cause  to  be  concealed. 

Booth  was  in  his  prime,  and  constitutionally  sub- 
ject to  varying  moods ;  at  times  highly  elated,  followed 
by  great  depressions,  and  both  would  go  to  extremes. 
He  fought  hard  against  these  tendencies,  as  against 
his  disposition  to  indulge  too  freely  in  drink,  and  in 
the  later  years  of  his  life  largely  overcame  these 
features. 

In  fishing  he  would  exhibit  the  impetuosity  of  a 
Petruchio,  and  this  cost  me  several  rods,  which  he 
broke  into  smithereens  over  small  trout.  He  got  in 
one  day  from  a  neighboring  town  a  new  fairly  good 
bamboo  fly  rod,  which  I  assisted  him  in  setting  up, 
arranging  the  reel  and  line  and  pliable  soaked  leader, 
and  left  him  afterwards  noosing  on  a  scarlet  ibis. 
The  rod  was  lying  on  the  dining-room  table.  I  was 
no  sooner  out  of  the  rooms  on  the  porch,  when  I  heard 
a  tremendous  rumpus  in  the  dining-room,  and  enter- 
ing found  Booth  flying  about  the  room  like  a  mad- 
man. He  had  left  his  fly  hanging  over  the  side  of 
the  table,  which  the  half-grown  family  cat  present, 
seeing,  struck  at  with  its  paw,  which  the  sharp  hook 
caught  in,  and  the  frightened  cat  bolted  vinder  the 


56  Reminiscences  of 

table  with  rapid  speed,  breaking  the  rod  tip  and  drag- 
ging the  rod  after,  while  Booth,  crying  "scat,  cat," 
had  no  effect  on  the  now  crazed  feline,  which  he 
was  following  after  in  great  excitement  at  high  pres- 
sure with  adjectives  of  singular  note.  The  sequel  of 
this  was  the  escape  of  the  cat  with  the  gaudy  fly  well 
hooked  in  its  foot,  and  a  well  smashed-up  rod.  I  was 
too  much  convulsed,  with  the  others  drawn  in  by  the 
commotion,  to  render  any  aid,  and  Booth  soon  joined 
in  with  our  laughter,  confessing  that  his  fishing  ex- 
perience was  a  failure,  and  that  he  would  not  have  any 
more  of  it. 

Booth  frequently  regaled  us  with  stories  of  his 
stage  experience,  and  I  remember  of  his  saying  that 
his  father  was  at  one  time  very  friendly  and  intimate 
with  Edwin  Forrest,  after  whom  he  was  named,  and 
how  well  he  remembered  the  affection  of  Forrest  for 
him  in  his  youth,  and  how  often  Forrest  had  held  him 
in  his  lap,  and  told  him  little  stories,  and  how  soon 
that  affection  passed  away  when  he  was  reaching 
success  on  the  stage,  and  commenced  playing  parts 
which  Forrest  considered  his  own;  that  this  jealousy 
of  Forrest's  concentrated  to  an  intense  hatred,  as 
indicated  on  several  occasions  afterwards.  Forrest 
was  a  man  of  intense  prejudices  and  dislikes,  and  yet 
of  gentle  and  loving  disposition  toward  those  he 
trusted.  He  was  as  simple  as  a  child  in  many  ways, 
and  as  appreciative  as  a  sensitive  woman  to  delicate 
attentions.  His  physique  was  magnificent  and  power- 
ful, and  among  the  parts  he  played  Othello  would 
seem  to  have  been  more  his  prototype  than  any  other 
character  illustrated  by  the  divine  poet.  He  nourished 
an    unfortunate    inherent    hatred    and    vindictiveness 


A  Sportsman  57 

constitutional  with  him  against  those  he  considered 
his  enemies,  for  real  or  fancied  wrongs,  and  would  go  to 
any  extent  to  express,  unworthy  of  the  natural  no- 
bility of  his  caste.  I  had  occasion  to  meet  him  a  good 
many  times. 

Edwin  Forrest's  most  intimate  and  ever-trusted 
friend — in  whom  he  placed  implicit  faith  and  who 
was  worthy  of  it — was  James  Oakes,  of  Boston,  now 
with  Forrest  gone  away.  He  was  a  man  among  men, 
and  of  most  sterling  qualities  and  as  true  as  steel  in 
his  friendship,  which  exceeded  that  of  any  man  I 
have  ever  known  for  devotion,  and  for  befriending 
those  whom  misfortunes  had  prostrated.  I  am  famil- 
iar with  numerous  instances.  No  matter  what  oc- 
curred from  poverty  or  disgrace  to  any  friend  of  his, 
he  held  to  his  unwavering  friendship  to  the  grave, 
and  would  foUow  to  the  last  rites  of  burial,  and  I 
have  known  him  to  lay  out  the  bodies  of  his  dear 
friends  without  aid  from  others.  I  felt  great  satis- 
faction in  his  friendship,  which  I  clung  to  through  his 
life,  and  which  I  now  hold  in  pleasant  memory.  He 
lived  at  the  Tremont  House,  where  I  resided  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  we  were  companions  at  the 
dining-table,  and  of  many  pleasant  evenings  passed 
in  converse. 

Forrest  made  frequent  visits  from  Philadelphia,  his 
home,  to  pass  some  days  with  Oakes,  whom  he  so 
often  told  me  was  his  dearest  friend  on  earth,  and 
whom  he  treasured  beyond  words.  Mr.  Oakes  was 
cultivated  in  his  literary  taste,  and  was  acknowledged 
as  a  forcible  critic  of  dramatic  works  and  dramatic 
renditions.  Forrest  told  me  that  Oakes,  as  his  dearest 
friend,  was  the  severest  critic  on  his  acting  of  any  he 


58  Reminiscences  of 

had  ever  encountered,  and  from  him  Forrest  sub- 
mitted to  anything.  I  beheve  if  Oakes  had  requested 
him  to  go  out  and  walk  around  the  block  half  a  dozen 
times,  without  assigning  any  reason,  that  Forrest 
would  readily  have  done  it.  The  first  time  he  came  to 
visit  Oakes  at  the  Tremont  House,  I  saw  him  seated 
with  him  at  the  table ;  I  quietly  took  a  seat  at  another, 
leaving  the  two  loving  friends  together.  Forrest  ob- 
serving this,  from  evident  remarks  of  Oakes,  asked 
him  to  invite  me  to  my  usual  seat,  which  I  afterward 
occupied  and  which  led  to  further  intimacy,  and  I  was 
after  invited  by  them  to  pass  the  evenings  in  Oakes 's 
sitting-room,  where  Forrest  made  free  in  familiar 
conversation.  Oakes  often  asked  Forrest  to  recite, 
and  read  extracts  from  favorite  authors,  especially 
from  Shakespeare,  which  Forrest  was  ever  willing  to 
do,  and  there  was  an  interest  and  impressiveness  in 
such  which  exceeded  that  of  stage  renderings.  Oakes 
would  sometimes  require  Forrest  to  repeat  or  read  over 
passages  several  times,  expressing  his  critical  review, 
which  Forrest  would  assent  to  with  most  gracious 
gentleness.  The  Lord's  Prayer  I  have  several  times 
heard  Forrest  repeat  with  an  impressiveness  which  a 
pulpit  orator  could  well  envy.  Scriptural  readings 
were  favorites,  especially  the  psalms  and  proverbs. 

Oakes  was  well  known  in  the  earlier  days  from  his 
critical  articles  and  reviews  over  the  signature  of 
"Acorn,"  and  his  stepson,  Thomas  K.  Batelle,  was 
also  a  sporting  writer  of  considerable  prominence, 
over  the  signature  of  "Corinthian  Tom."  I  knew 
him  during  my  earliest  days  in  California,  and  our 
friendly  relations  were  continued  iintil  his  death, 
some  twenty-five  years  ago. 


A  Sportsman  59 

The  father  of  Batelle  was  a  prominent  shipping 
merchant  of  Newbury  port,  Mass.,  in  the  eariier  days 
when  that  town  was  more  prominent  in  extended 
commercial  affairs  than  now,  and  from  this  town 
came  several  prominent  men  I  have  known :  Caleb 
Gushing,  George  Peabody,  George  Lunt,  and  others. 

Two  sisters  of  Tom  Batelle,  Garafelia  and  Caro- 
line, were  the  wives  of  the  two  Chickering  brothers, 
Thomas  and  Frank,  sons  of  Jonas  Chickering,  the 
inventor  and  large  manufacturer  of  the  Chickering 
piano.  All  are  gone  of  whom  I  write,  and  it  would 
seem  that  soon  the  reader  and  I  will  join  the  "in- 
numerable caravan." 

An  incident  occurred  at  Upton  which  had  a  sequel 
twenty-five  years  afterward,  that  I  am  reminded  of. 
The  young  wife  of  Booth's  friend  from  Baltimore, 
with  her  husband,  were  to  accompany  us  one  day  on  a 
general  party  picnic  we  were  jointly  to  give  at  a  brook- 
side  a  few  miles  from  our  hotel.  Some  were  to  go 
in  a  large  wagon,  and  the  balance  on  horseback  on 
the  somewhat  motley  collection  of  equines  found  by 
Edwin  in  our  vicinity.  Mrs.  Booth  and  Mrs.  Bro\^'Tl, 
the  Baltimore  wife,  Edwin  Booth,  Dan  Setchell,  and  I 
were  to  go  ati  cheval.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  we 
foxmd  two  ladies'  saddles,  and  they  were  not  particu- 
larly attractive  or  efficient.  But  the  two  ladies  were 
determined  to  go  mounted  and  were  both  accounted 
good  equestriennes.  The  wagon  started  off  in  ad- 
vance, as  there  was  some  delay  in  getting  on  the 
steeds,  and  as  the  last  of  all  was  mine  and  the  one 
preceding  for  Mrs.  Brown,  I  assisted  her  to  mount, 
and  everything  seemed  to  be  tight  and  complete,  but 
just  as  she  started  off,  whipping  up  to  overtake  those 


6o  Reminiscences  of 

in  advance,  her  clumsy  charger  stumbled  badly, 
throwing  her  over  its  head  to  the  ground,  where  she 
struck  heavily.  I  being  the  nearest  raised  her  up, 
and,  finding  her  insensible,  carried  her  without  aid 
into  the  hotel,  and  then,  aided  by  her  husband,  to  her 
apartment.  The  country  doctor  was  sent  for,  and  we 
were  much  alarmed,  and  gave  up  the  excursion.  The 
next  day  Mrs.  Brown  became  the  mother  of  a  daughter, 
the  arrival  being  somewhat  in  advance  of  expectations, 
accelerated  by  the  unfortunate  accident.  Years  rolled 
by,  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  although  I  met  Mr. 
Brown  occasionally  I  never  saw  his  wife  or  daughter, 
tmtil  I  met  him  one  summer  at  a  Long  Branch  hotel, 
twenty-five  years  after  the  Upton  incident,  when  I 
learned  of  the  death  of  his  wife,  and  that  his  daughter, 
then  married,  was  at  our  hotel  with  her  husband. 
That  evening  I  was  presented  to  her  as  an  old  friend  of 
her  father's,  and  was  left  in  conversation  with  her. 
After  a  while  I  expressed  my  pleasure  in  seeing  her, 
not  only  as  the  daughter  of  my  old  friend,  but  from 
the  fact  of  once  having  carried  her  in  my  arms,  with- 
out ever  having  seen  her,  or  having  her  see  me,  I 
most  naturally  experienced  more  than  an  ordinary 
satisfaction.  She  gazed  upon  me  with  a  look  of  sur- 
prise and  requested  a  repetition  of  my  remarks,  and 
afterwards  said  she  then  had  doubts  of  my  sanity. 
I  told  her  briefly  the  story  of  the  accident  and  of  my 
carriage  of  her  mother  to  the  hotel  and  of  the  unex- 
pected denouement. 


[N  these  reminiscences  I  shall  ramble  more  or  less 
^     in  the  remembrances  of  the  past  as  they  arise  in  my 


A  Sportsman  6i 

mind,  which  if  I  do  not  take  up  as  they  come,  will 
not  otherwise  appear,  and  though  they  may  not  be 
of  general  interest  to  the  reader,  or  directly  concerned 
with  sports,  will  give  me  some  satisfaction  to  recoimt. 

I  have  noted  the  strong  affection  of  some  eminent 
men  I  have  known  for  others,  and  often  the  opposites 
in  dispositions — ^as  of  Booth  for  Setchell;  of  Forrest 
for  Oakes;  of  Daniel  Webster  for  Peter  Harvey;  and 
Henry  Irving  for  Toole,  the  comedian.  I  was  in- 
vited one  evening  in  London  to  meet  the  two  latter 
at  a  midnight  supper  at  the  Garrick  Club,  and  I  was 
struck  with  the  particular  affection  which  each  bore 
toward  the  other.  The  affection  of  Webster  for  Peter 
Harvey  is  well  known. 

I  heard  the  last  great  speech  of  Webster,  in  Faneuil 
Hall  in  1852,  the  year  I  sailed  away  from  that  port 
for  California.  Webster  died  that  year.  Faneuil 
Hall  had  been  denied  to  him  for  some  time  owing 
to  the  sectional  feeling  which  existed,  arising  from 
Webster's  action  in  the  Missovui  Compromise  bill, 
which  Webster  keenly  felt.  He  had  met  with  a 
carriage  accident  a  short  time  before,  from  which  he 
had  not  fully  recovered.  An  intense  interest  existed 
in  the  city  among  the  friends  and  admirers  of  Webster 
to  hear  this  address,  and  the  old  hall  was  packed  as  a 
box  of  sardines.  I  accompanied  my  most  dear  and 
lamented  friend  Peter  Butler,  and  Peter  Harvey,  each 
particular  friends  of  the  other,  and  the  most  dear 
friends  of  the  immortal  Daniel,  to  the  small  apartment 
where  Webster  sat  alone  in  a  large  arm-chair  waiting 
for  the  moment  when  he  should  be  called  to  the  plat- 
form. I  had  never  seen  him  before,  and  I  was  awe- 
struck with  his  grand  and  magnificent  proportions 


62  Reminiscences  of 

and  impressive  features.  His  large  dark  eyes,  well 
sunken  over  his  prominent  cheek-bones,  imparted  a 
singularly  attractive  effect.  But  his  countenance 
bore  a  friendly  greeting  over  its  sombre  sternness.  I 
was  shocked  to  hear  Harvey  familiarly  say:  "Well, 
Dan,  how  do  you  feel  to-day?" 

From  our  seats  on  the  platform,  where  many 
friends  of  Webster  were  seated,  we  heard  his  last  im- 
pressive words  to  the  citizens  of  Boston.  The  standing- 
room  of  the  large  hall  was  entirely  absorbed,  and  the 
standing  audience,  compressed  so  closely,  took  on  a 
swaj'ing  motion  from  side  to  side  which  threatened 
the  stability  of  the  building.  This  continuing  when 
Webster  arose,  he  raised  his  hand,  and  impressively 
uttered  the  following  words,  which  are  about  all  I 
remember : 

"Let  every  man  stand  still  in  his  place." 

The  effect  was  instant.  I  have  always  had  a  love 
for  oratory  and  good  acting,  and  oratory  often  car- 
ries one  beyond  reason.  I  can  imagine  the  ancient 
orators  were  remarkable  for  their  stirring  power, 
but  I  can  hardly  beUeve  they  surpassed  those  of 
modem  days, — Chatham,  Fox,  Patrick  Henry,  Rufus 
Choate,  Henry  Clay,  and  our  own  orators  of  note — 
in  their  specialties — of  whom  I  have  heard  Wendell 
Phillips,  John  B.  Gough,  and  Thomas  H.  Marshall, 
of  Kentucky.  I  deemed  them  the  most  effective  of 
any  I  have  heard. 

I  was  present  at  the  first  inaugural  address  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  at  Washington,  of  simple  and 
heart-feeling  words,  which  proved  of  no  avail,  and 
in  several  political  meetings  in  Illinois  I  heard  the 
combating  stump  speeches  of  Lincoln   and  Stephen 


A  Sportsman  63 

A.  Douglas.  I  have  also  heard  Samuel  Houston, 
in  Tremont  Temple,  Boston,  and  frequently  Edward 
Everett;  also  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Anson  G.  Bur- 
lingame,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Caleb  Cushing,  Franklin 
Pierce,  N.  P.  Banks,  Gladstone,  Robert  IngersoU, 
and  others  of  prominence.  I  account  Wendell  Phil- 
lips— although  by  no  means  his  disciple — one  of  the 
cleverest,  and  in  language  the  most  graceful  and 
classical  of  orators  I  ever  heard,  surpassing  the  studied 
elegance  of  Everett  in  his  seeming  spontaneity  and 
fitness  of  words,  and  I  am  doubtful  if  Cicero  surpassed 
him. 

I  think  for  impassioned  eloquence  with  lofty  ex- 
pression and  personal  magnetic  power  Rufus  Choate 
in  his  address  on  Daniel  Webster  surpassed  any  I 
ever  heard.  This  was  delivered  in  the  Revere  House, 
in  1853,  upon  the  anniversary  of  Webster's  death, 
at  a  banquet  given  by  the  immediate  friends  and 
admirers  in  memory  of  that  event.  Choate  had 
been  a  lifelong  friend  of  Webster,  and  no  one  could 
have  been  selected  more  fitting  for  the  event.  Choate, 
of  tall,  thin,  and  angular  form,  with  a  countenance  ex- 
hibiting the  emotions  of  thought  and  genius  in  its 
worn  and  wrinkled  features  seamed  with  singular 
interlineations,  indicative  of  his  intense  nervous-san- 
guine temperament,  surmounted  with  a  brow  o'er 
which  "the  pale  cast  of  thought"  seemed  enthroned, 
was  confessedly  the  leader  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bar,  in  effective  force.  In  an  intellectual  sense  I 
was  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  man,  and  I  often  stole 
away  in  busy  hours  to  listen  to  and  admire  the  il- 
luminations and  magnetic  power  of  his  persuasive 
eloquence  in  noted  cases. 


64  Reminiscences  of 

One  instance  I  recall  in  a  criminal  case  where 
Choate  was  engaged  for  the  defendant,  which  was 
of  prolonged  period,  and  excited  an  absorbing  inter- 
est from  the  community,  when  his  summing  up  of 
the  evidence  consumed  several  hours;  and  when  the 
condition  of  the  jury  was  plainly  evident  to  the 
assemblage,  being  clear  that  eleven  of  the  jury  were 
for  acquittal,  while  the  twelfth  sat  stolidly  in  the 
front  centre  of  the  box,  assuming  an  indifference 
vmfelt  by  any  other  in  the  court.  The  case  was  one 
where  the  defendant  had  slain  the  seducer  of  his 
honor,  clearly  and  premeditately.  In  the  sense  of 
the  law  it  was  a  clear  case  for  conviction.  But  who 
can  account  for  the  conclusions  of  a  jury,  which  may 
act  from  sympathy,  with  its  impulses  strained  to  a 
forgetfulness  of  the  mandate,  "Thou  shalt  not  kill." 
The  twelfth  juror  became  aware  as  all  present  that 
he  was  the  conspicuous  object  of  attention,  and  con- 
scious that  his  attitude  was  apparent  to  his  fellow- 
jurors,  as  well  as  to  the  orator  of  defence,  and  that 
the  latter's  efforts  were  particularly  directed  toward 
him,  and  prolonged  for  his  conversion.  He  was  a 
singular  man,  of  sturdy  make-up  and  decided  cast, 
with  frontal  head  retreating  to  rear  prominence; 
one  of  that  sort  of  men  who  occasionally  get  drawn 
on  a  jixry  where  the  other  eleven  are  wanting  in  good 
sense  and  reason.  He  had  long  since  ceased  to  allow 
his  sight  to  be  obscured  by  the  presence  of  the  orator 
who  held  entranced  with  magnetic  power  the  rest  of 
the  jury,  and,  affecting  a  stupid  languor,  sat  with 
downcast  head  and  eyes.  Choate  sought  but  one 
glance  to  hold  with  his  conquering  power,  but  in  vain. 
It  was  an  exciting  period,  a  waiting  one,  to  exhibit 


A  Sportsman  65 

the  mastery  of  one  mind  over  another,  of  an  efTort  to 
establish  the  Une  of  transmission  by  the  visual  organ 
from  brain  to  brain  for  the  torrential  outpouring, 
negatively  diverted  by  the  dam  of  obstinacy.  The 
impassioned  orator  advanced  and  withdrew  by  turn 
over  the  open  space  between  himself  and  the  object  of 
attack,  vainly  seeking  an  opening  for  his  spellbinding 
power,  until  with  a  final  advance  accompanied  with  a 
flow  of  words  in  rapidity  beyond  the  power  of  the  sten- 
ographer's art,  holding  all  present  in  breathless  quiet, 
brought  down  his  clenched  hand  with  resovmding 
force  upon  the  flat  bar  by  the  downcast  head  which 
held  the  ransom  of  a  human  life.  Thus  startled, 
and  much  confused,  the  head  quickly  rose  with  an 
inquiring  glance,  which  was  fated  to  lose  its  domina- 
tion, and  the  battle  was  won,  for  Choate  caught  it 
before  it  could  slink  away  again,  and  held  it  with  an 
intensity  from  which  there  was  no  mortal  escape; 
and  into  the  now  receptive  brain  of  his  victim  with  a 
communication  now  established  he  poured  forth  a 
flow  of  alternate  commanding  and  persuasive  logic, 
which  even  the  befuddled  intelligence  of  his  now 
terrified  quarry  could  not  withstand,  coupled  with  the 
apparent  conspicuousness  of  his  position  and  a  clear 
condemnation  of  his  previously  held  attitude.  There 
was  little  doubt  felt  when  the  jury  retired  what  its 
conclusion  would  be,  and  a  unanimous  acquittal  was 
soon  declared. 

The  assemblage  of  1853  at  the  Webster  banquet 
on  the  first  anniversary  of  his  death  was  of  most 
devoted  friends  of  the  departed  statesman,  and  repre- 
sented a  distinguished  element  of  advanced  intelli- 
gence gleaned  from  the  surrounding  region.     It  was 


66  Reminiscences  of 

a  question  if  any  one  covdd  arise  to  the  expectations 
of  the  event  in  a  sufficient  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
the  departed  one  whose  majestic  presence  and  grand 
oratorical  powers  had  been  unequalled  in  the  records 
of  history — of  one  whom  nature's  mould   had  never 
given  another  of  grander  personification  of  manhood. 
When  the  moment   arrived  for  the  rising  of  Rufus 
Choate,   all  movement  and  conversation  ceased   and 
the  stillness  of  expectation  prevailed.     All  knew  the 
careworn  countenance  of  the  orator  of  the  evening 
with  its  graven  lines,  the  brow  whereabout  struggled 
the  furtive  locks  now  silvering  from  time,  the  chin  of 
firmness  and  classic  movild ;  the  mouth  of  expressiveness, 
from  which  issued  the  honeyed  words  of  persuasive- 
ness or  those  of  disdain,  contempt,  or  denunciation; 
the  form  moderately  tall  and  spare,  of  nervous  mus- 
cular build   without   tendency  to    fulness,    quick    in 
movement  or  quiet  as  occasion  required,  natural  and 
tmaffected,  yet  trained  by  years  of  active  practice. 
The  commencement  was  quiet,  moderate,  and  of  clear 
enunciation,    of   gentle    tones    seeking    way    into    the 
hearts  of  the   lovers  of  Webster,   and   finding  place 
there;  and  thus  on,  with  slowly  increased  recitations  of 
moment,  which  found  willing  response.     The  orator 
knew  full  well  the  union  he  had  found,  without  hand 
recognition.     It  was  not  required,   for  the  words  of 
the  master  mind  in  sorrow  and  regret  and  in  sym- 
pathy and  love  and  admiration  were  but  the  breathing 
form  of  united  thought.     And  so  on,   with  gradual 
increase  of  emotion  so  apt  and  natural   that   admira- 
tion of  the  orator  was  forgotten   in  the  perfection  of 
illustration. 

There  are  many  forms  of  oratory:   The    smooth 


A  Sportsman  67 

Addisonian   flow  of  perfect   English  as  rendered  by 
Edward  Everett,  beyond  criticism,  possibly  brilliant 
in   a    conservative    degree,    with    well    rounded   sen- 
tences, accompanied  by  graceful  gestures,  but  cold  and 
emotionless.     That   of   the   often    uncultivated    and 
awlcvN'ard  delivery,  but  well  founded  on  fact  and  rea- 
son.    That    of    the    extravagant    type,    which    may 
interest  and  amuse.     That  of    commonplace    which 
in  lack  of  evidence,  manner,  or  fact  is    uninteresting. 
That  of  homely  and  kind  delivery  which  touches  the 
heart   to   its   depths.      That   of   Webster,    the   Great 
Expounder,  in  depth  and  comprehensiveness  exhibit- 
ing the  grandeur  of  the  human  mind  to  its  extent,  and 
whose  very  presence  and  simple  words  imparted  an 
inexplicable  interest.     That  of  Choate,  the  creator  of  a 
school   by   itself,    of   magic   power   self-inherited;    of 
form,  head,   and  countenance   indicating  the  restless 
and  impetuous  soul  within ;    of  imaginative  mind  in 
sentiment  and  tenderness;    of  analytical  faculty  and 
consecutiveness  of   illustrations;  of  education   in  the 
classics  most  exact:   a  rare  combination  of  will  power 
and    though tfulness,    and    possessing   that    magnetic 
ability — if  such  we  will  call  that  mysterious  and  un- 
known power  which  exists  without  tongue,  picture,  or 
tangible  evidence — to  hold,  enlist,  and  affect  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  others.     It  is  the  innate  offspring  from 
hidden  source  which  is  not  of  thought  and  education 
and  exists  more  or  less  in  all,  often  unconsciously, 
and  without  which  one  cannot  attain   great   power. 
This,   in  my  view,   was  possessed  by  Choate  to  an 
eminent  degree. 

One   can    imagine   the   sublime    influence   of   this 
sense  from  an  orator  possessing  the  general  qualifi- 


68  Reminiscences  of 

cations  of  Choate,  and  for  an  hour  the  assemblage 
was  held  by  an  eloquence  siupassing  any  it  has  been 
my  experience  to  have  witnessed.  Perhaps  I  dwell 
too  long  upon  this  digression,  and  sometimes  I  think 
my  receptive  condition — ^being  at  that  time  in  my 
teens — exceeded  that  of  my  present,  but  my  recol- 
lection is  vivid,  and  I  would  not  deny  myself  the 
memory,  and  I  can  see  as  plainly  as  of  yesterday 
the  living  countenance  and  animated  form  of  Choate. 
I  think  it  quite  probable  that  I  was  too  receptive, 
for  I  am  reminded  of  the  intense  interest  I  felt  at 
that  period  in  the  dramatic  recitations  and  acting 
of  the  famous  French  tragedienne,  Sarah  Felix  Rachel, 
who  visited  the  United  States  at  that  time,  and  the 
effect  upon  me  exceeded  any  I  have  since  experienced 
or  approached  by  the  representations  I  have  witnessed 
of  Ristori,  Janauschek,  Matilda  Heron,  Charlotte 
Cushman,  and  others  of  less  note.  Her  fragile  and 
delicate  form,  of  pliant  mould,  and  her  pale  coun- 
tenance, of  not  particular  impressiveness  when  at  rest, 
became  illuminated  in  action  with  the  most  intense 
expressions  which  only  high  genius  (or  was  it  talent  ?) 
could  render.  Her  rest  of  classic  cast,  her  movement 
of  gentle  or  violent  action  ever  graceful,  her  enuncia- 
tion of  sweetness  or  severity,  although  in  foreign 
tongue,  ever  clear  and  penetrating,  habitated  her 
presence  in  my  estimation  beyond  the  possibilities  of 
expectation,  and  I  clung  to  her  representations  of 
Medea,  Phrede,  and  other  leading  parts  with  a  fer- 
vency and  absorbism  never  since  equalled.  Rachel 
died  soon  afterwards  in  Paris  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
eight,  consumed,  it  is  claimed,  by  the  intensity  of  her 
own  nature. 


A  Sportsman  69 

In  later  years  I  have  experienced  the  intensity  of 
admiration  and  regard  for  the  acting  of  the  elder 
Salvini,  whom  I  account  the  peer  in  natural  presenta- 
tion and  reserved  power  of  any  other  actor.  In 
whatever  play  I  have  seen  him,  I  have  followed  him 
with  great  interest,  and  I  can  hardly  believe  that 
Talma  or  Garrick  could  have  been  his  equal. 


LET  us  return  to  the  sporting  line.  In  the  early 
history  of  Maine,  game  of  the  character  now 
existing  there  was  plentiful,  and  wolves  were  abund- 
ant, although  they  are  now  quite  unknown  except 
occasionally  in  the  extreme  northeastern  part,  and 
have  not  been  known  about  the  Rangeley  Lakes  for 
fifty  years,  which  is  rather  singular,  considering  that 
such  expansive  forests  abound,  where  the  conditions 
are  comparatively  similar  to  those  before  existing. 

Owing  to  the  absence  of  protecting-game  laws,  and 
the  ease  with  which  moose  and  deer  were  killed  in 
the  deep  snow  in  February  and  March, — becoming 
crusted  over  by  slight  day  thawings  and  night  freez- 
ings,— the  slaughter  was  simple  enough,  and  such 
killing  was  extensively  pursued  by  the  inhabitants, 
with  a  consequent  diminution  of  both  animals,  and 
between  the  years  1850  and  i860  moose  and  deer 
became  pretty  scarce  about  the  frontier  settlements 
of  the  State. 

This  condition  aroused  public  attention  and  game 
laws  more  stringent  than  before  existing  were  enacted, 
and  from  i860  deer  became  more  plentiful,  although 
slaughtering  in  the  crusted  snow  was  still  continued 
to  a  limited  extent  in  the  outlying  districts  and  by 
the  winter  loggers,  but  the  laws  became  more  drastic 


70  Reminiscences  of 

under  the  present  commissioners  who  were  appointed 
by  the  State,  and  who  continue  still  in  office. 

Let  us  consider  the  benefits  of  protecting-game 
laws  in  a  region  where  they  have  been  of  notable 
and  conspicuous  effect — more  so,  perhaps,  than  else- 
where in  the  United  States;  in  an  extensive  region 
where  a  fair  trial  has  been  made,  and  where  an  op- 
position has  constantly  appeared,  though  of  late 
much  diminished,  since  the  advantages  of  protec- 
tion have  become  more  apparent.  A  large  increase 
of  deer  is  now  clearly  shown  in  Maine,  as  well  as 
moose,  now  appearing  in  districts  from  which  they 
had  become  almost  exterminated. 

Especially  in  the  department  of  fisheries  have  the 
advantages  of  protection  been  shown  by  the  pro- 
hibition of  winter  fishing,  and  the  limitation  of  the 
open  season.  These  fish  laws  particularly  have  been 
in  force  against  much  opposition,  from  the  objective 
element  of  the  State,  and  this  objective  disposition 
is  ever  present  more  or  less  in  all  restricted  districts 
from  the  unthinking  and  often  reckless  element. 
Such  opposition  comes  largely  from  those  who  in 
reality  have  but  little  at  stake. 

The  State  of  Maine  can  be  cited  conspicuously  as 
one  where  efficient  game  protection  has  resulted  in 
great  gain,  for  the  material  benefit,  not  only  for  the 
State  in  its  income  derived  from  licenses,  and  money 
expended  within  its  borders  by  visitors,  but  for  the 
sportsmen  who  regularly  frequent  the  lakes  and 
rivers  for  fishing  and  the  forests  for  hunting.  It  is 
estimated  that  from  ten  to  fifteen  millions  of  dollars 
per  annum  are  expended  directly  and  indirectly  in 
the  State  by  visitors  who  are  attracted  by  the  fishing 


A  Sportsman  71 

and  shooting  advantages  offered;  and  about  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  per  annvun  are  obtained  from 
the  sale  of  licenses,  which  funds  are  contributed  to- 
ward the  expenses  of  supervision,  wardens,  and  the 
propagation  of  fish. 

In  1875  there  were  but  four  lakes  or  ponds  which 
contained  land-locked  salmon,  which  have  now  been 
introduced  into  more  than  eight  hundred,  and  hun- 
dreds appropriate  for  black  bass  have  also  been 
stocked.  The  salt-water  smelt,  which  is  suitable 
for  many  fresh  waters — although  seldom  reaching 
the  size  attained  in  the  sea, — is  ver}-  generally  dis- 
tributed throughout  Maine  waters,  and  entirely 
throughout  the  Rangeley  waters,  which  cover  about 
one  hundred  square  miles;  it  has  furnished  a  new  and 
very  important  source  of  trout  and  land-locked  salmon 
food,  and  seems  to  be  the  chief  food  in  the  spring 
after  the  ice  clearing.  They  are  seen  in  large  schools 
at  the  surface,  of  about  two  inches  in  length,  and  I 
have  counted  out  from  the  stomachs  of  large  trout 
and  salmon  as  many  as  fifty  or  sixty  from  a  single 
fish. 

Under  the  intelligent  action  of  the  game  com- 
missioners, the  breeding  of  trout  and  salmon  has 
been  most  extensively  prosecuted,  and  besides  stock- 
ing home  waters,  young  fry  has  been  very  extensively 
and  freely  distributed  throughout  the  country,  even 
to  the  Pacific  Coast.  In  fact,  the  protection  of  game 
and  sporting  interests,  prosecuted  in  the  successful 
manner  it  has  been,  has  largely  increased  the  pros- 
perity of  the  State,  and  United  States  Senator  Frye, 
himself  an  ardent  sportsman,  in  the  course  of  a  recent 
address,  said: 


72  Reminiscences  of 

"In  all  the  times  of  business  depressions  and  dis- 
tress, financial  panics  and  consequent  unemployment 
of  labor,  so  seriously  affecting  the  country,  the  State 
of  Maine  has  suffered  much  less  than  any  other  State 
in  the  American  Union,  mostly,  if  not  entirely,  due 
to  the  large  amount  of  money  left  there  by  the  fisher- 
men, the  summer  tourist,  and  the  Fall  hunter,  the 
seeker  after  change,  rest,  and  recreation." 

The  quinnat  or  king  salmon  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
has  also  been  introduced  into  the  waters  of  Maine 
with  success,  and  can  now  be  caught  up  to  a  weight 
of  ten  or  twelve  pounds.  The  salmon  is  a  fresh- 
water fish,  although  its  habitat  is  the  sea,  and 
after  a  sea  life  it  cannot  be  transferred  to  fresh 
water  without  losing  its  prime  qualities;  if  taken 
from  the  hatcheries  as  a  fingerling  or  smolt  and  con- 
fined in  fresh  water  it  will  becoine  domesticated  there 
and  breed  as  other  fish,  but  will  never  reach  the  size 
or  the  peculiar  delicious  flavor  of  the  sea  salmon. 
It  will,  however,  retain  the  peculiarities  of  its  congener 
in  taking  the  fly  and  leaping  from  the  water  when 
hooked  with  all  the  game  qualities  of  the  trout,  and  in 
this  respect  is  considered  superior  by  many  fishermen. 

In  some  waters  the  land-locked  salmon  will  gain 
more  weight  than  in  others.  In  the  Sebago  Lake, 
for  instance,  and  also  in  the  Rangeleys,  they  will 
reach  a  maximum  of  fifteen  or  eighteen  pounds. 

For  a  while  moose  practically  disappeared  about  the 
Rangeley  Lakes  and  one  could  travel  long  distances 
through  the  forests  without  seeing  any  or  a  deer- 
yard.  By  a  provision  of  instinct,  which  is  indicated 
so  prominently  with  many  animals,  the  moose  and 
deer  will,  in  a  region  of  heavy  snows,  select  before 


A  Sportsman  73 

the  maximum  of  depth  is  reached,  and  the  season 
when  surface  crusting  occurs,  a  location  generally 
in  black  growth  where  browsing  is  favorable,  and 
yard,  so  to  say.  This  yard  is  not  particularly  limited 
in  extent,  sometimes  extending  over  several  miles, 
depending  somewhat  upon  the  nimiber  of  animals 
yarding.  Here  they  will  remain  unless  disturbed 
until  the  full  snow  season  is  on.  The  traversing  of 
the  yard  keeps  the  soft  snow  broken  up,  and  when 
the  day  thawings  come  along  the  indentations  of  the 
feet  not  only  pack  the  snow  at  the  foot  imprints,  but 
extend  several  feet  outside,  which,  freezing,  makes  a 
stronger  surface  crust  than  over  adjoining  untouched 
tracts.  Crossing  and  recrossing,  as  moose  and  deer 
will  do  a  great  deal  of  in  a  yard,  imparts  a  favorable 
footing,  and  one  passing  over  will  readily  discover 
that  he  is  in  a  yard,  though  he  may  see  no  other  signs 
of  animal  existence,  and  sometimes  it  requires  a  good 
deal  of  travelling  to  find  the  occupants  when  a  yard  is 
extensive. 

The  deer  in  a  winter  yard  will  evade  the  search  by 
keeping  out  of  sight,  though  their  fresh  tracks  may 
be  observed.  If  the  snow  outside  is  deep  and  heavily 
crusted  they  will  show  a  great  deal  of  reluctance 
in  leaving  a  yard.  Sometimes  they  will  lie  down 
in  the  yard  together  in  the  best  place  of  shelter,  and 
in  such  cases  will  allow  the  seeker  to  pass  pretty  near 
before  taking  flight,  and  will  then  perhaps  round 
about  in  the  3'ard,  well  aware  of  the  difficulties  which 
await  them.  Although  accompanied  by  a  dog,  which 
will  materially  aid  him,  a  hunter  will  often  find  great 
difficulty  in  ousting  a  herd  of  deer  from  a  yard. 
I  came  into  a  deer  yard  in  the  winter  of  1859 — the 


74  Reminiscences  of 

first  winter  trip  after  the  fishing  excursion — in  the 
early  morning  with  my  hunting  guide,  Nay  Bennett, 
and  his  mongrel  undersized  dog — but  clever  with 
moose  and  deer, — and  we  spent  the  whole  half -day 
searching  for  the  deer  which  we  had  clear  evidence 
were  in  the  yard.  It  was  some  two  miles  long  by 
a  mile  wide,  and  indicated  the  holding  of  a  goodly 
number  by  the  numerous  fresh  tracks,  twig  browsing, 
and  other  signs,  and  though  we  hunted  industriously 
over  it  for  four  or  five  hours,  no  deer  could  we  find, 
and  as  we  had  an  objective  point  to  reach  that  night 
several  miles  off,  we  concluded  to  lunch  and  push  on. 
So,  with  a  brisk  fire,  and  some  tea  made  with  water 
from  melting  snow,  and  a  rasher  of  broiled  salt  pork 
and  bread,  we  relieved  our  somewhat  fatigued  legs 
by  a  rest. 

We  had  one  gun,  a  half  blanket,  and  some  pounds 
of  bread  and  salt  pork,  some  tea  and  a  small  pot  and 
cups,  extra  thick  socks,  and  a  few  other  incidentals, 
including  a  few  hooks  and  lines  for  catching  trout 
through  the  ice.  We  were  in  a  wilderness  of  forest 
where  we  could: go  a  hundred  miles  or  more  without 
seeing  a  settlement,  and  were  bound  for  Parmachene 
Lake,  the  headwater  of  the  Androscoggin  River,  some 
thirty  miles  distant.  What  more  could  we  desire 
than  the  prospect  before  us?  I  was  reluctant  about 
giving  up  further  search  for  the  deer,  and  not  joining 
Nay  in  his  accustomed  smoke  after  eating,  I  left  him 
to  pack  up  our  extensive  holdings,  with  the  gun,  and 
follow,  and  taking  a  compass  line  in  the  direction  we 
were  to  go,  started  on  accompanied  by  our  canine, 
which  bore  the  euphonous  name  of  Zip.  I  was  about 
passing  out  of  the  yard  north,  when  up  sprang  a  dozen 


A  Sportsman  75 

deer  from  their  beds  in  the  snow  and  in  mass  broke 
from  the  yard  and  down  the  somewhat  steep  hill 
in  the  direction  I  was  heading.  They  were  soon 
out  of  sight,  leaving  a  deep  furrow  which  Nay  after- 
wards said  looked  as  if  a  loaded  cart  had  gone  down 
there. 

There  was  no  time  to  lose  as  they  should  be  hard 
pressed  at  the  start  before  they  could  recover  from 
the  first  fright,  and  settle  down  to  a  steady,  moderate 
pace,  or  separate.  So  calling  loudly  to  Nay,  uncer- 
tain if  he  could  hear  me,  I  hastened  on  with  Zip, 
who  already  was  about  out  of  sight  ahead  on  the 
trail.  He  was  a  knowing  dog,  this  mongrel  Zip, 
who  had  served  his  apprenticeship  for  some  years 
with  Nay,  his  master  being  a  noted  hunter,  and  fonder 
of  moose  and  deer  hunting  and  life  in  the  woods  than 
work  on  the  small  farm  he  had  at  the  Megalloway 
settlement.  I  was  quite  light  and  quick  on  the  snow- 
shoe,  and  I  soon  overtook  and  passed  Zip,  whose  oc- 
casional slumping  in  the'  snow  retarded  his  progress, 
but  gave  no  cessation  of  his  excited  yelping.  I  soon 
left  him  far  behind,  but  he  had  no  discouragement 
in  his  bones,  and  afterwards  came  up  in  good  season. 

Not  more  than  half  a  mile  more  did  I  go,  before 
I  had  the  deer  in  sight  ahead;  they,  being  confused 
and  floundering  in  the  deep  snow,  were  still  together. 
Pitiful  sight  was  it  not?  I  think  so,  but  did  not 
then,  as  I  was  too  eager  for  the  killing  and  fresh  meat. 
But  as  I  came  up  to  them  they  parted  in  different  di- 
rections, as  was  their  habit  when  close  pressed.  Hast- 
ily selecting  the  largest  of  the  herd  for  my  particular 
attention,  and  to  hold  as  I  could  only  until  Nay  came 
up,  I   pressed  him  to  bay,  for  he  could  not  make 


76  Reminiscences  of 

progress  equal  to  mine,  so  he  beat  down  the  snow 
about  him  and  faced  me,  and  I  was  holding  him  when 
Zip  arrived  full  of  fury  and  yelping. 

My  quarry  upon  this  broke  off  again,  when  Zip, 
with  still  more  frightful  yelps,  fastened  momentarily 
on  the  rear,  letting  go  in  season  to  avoid  the  front- 
foot  strike  so  habitual  with  the  deer  at  close 
quarters.  A  dog  of  this  character  is  more  efficient 
with  moose  and  deer  at  bay,  and  in  fact  with  bear 
or  other  large  animals  belonging  to  the  dangerous 
class,  than  a  large  and  courageous  one  depending 
upon  his  power  untaught  by  experience,  which  often 
occasions  his  sudden  exit  from  the  scene,  and  con- 
sequent peril  to  his  master. 

I  noted  lately  an  account  of  the  escape  of  a  hunter 
in  the  mountains  from  a  wounded  grizzly  bear  by  the 
active  distracting  work  of  a  fox-terrier  which  accom- 
panied him. 

All  the  rest  of  the  deer  had  broken  away  out  of 
sight,  and  I  saw  no  difficulty  in  holding  mine  until 
Nay  should  come  up  with  the  gun.  But  he  was 
slow  in  arriving,  and  my  buck  kept  moving  along, 
and  I  kept  after  him,  impeding  him  with  Zip  as  much 
as  possible,  which  worked  him  up  into  a  great  fury  in 
which  he  would  charge  at  his  tormentor  with  a  hissing 
sound,  striking  at  him  with  his  feet,  which  Zip  managed 
to  keep  well  clear  of,  but  came  very  near  being  trod- 
den under  several  times  owing  to  the  broken  snow, 
which  troubled  him  as  much  as  the  buck. 

I  worked  up  pretty  closely  with  my  cheering 
on,  but  thought  prudent  to  have  my  long-bladed 
knife  in  hand  in  case  I  should  receive  a  charge,  and 
sure   enough    it   came    rather   utiexpectedly,    and    so 


A  Sportsman  ^^ 

suddenly  that  in  my  haste  to  avoid  it,  I  locked  my 
snowshoes  and  came  down  in  a  heap  with  the  buck 
on  top  of  me,  but  whose  sharp  feet  I  managed  to 
avoid  as  he  came  down.  Zip  managed  to  get  in  on 
the  rear,  but  I  lost  sight  of  him  in  the  flurry,  and 
had  no  way  to  avoid  an  up-and-down  churning,  ex- 
cepting to  throw  my  arms  up  over  the  neck  of  the 
deer,  still  retaining  my  knife  in  hand.  In  this  situ- 
ation I  was  lifted  up  and  down  very  quickly  several 
times  with  no  ability  to  use  my  knife,  and  I  saw  that 
something  would  have  to  result  very  shortly,  or  I 
should  be  hors  dc  combat,  as  my  weight  and  strength 
seemed  of  slight  avail  in  contrast  with  the  apparently 
increasing  strength  of  my  adversary,  who  was  hissing 
with  fright  and  rage  and  whom  I  would  have  been  glad 
to  cry'  quits  with,  if  I  could  only  have  been  relieved 
from  him.  But  the  combat  ended  in  a  moment.  I 
managed  with  my  left  arm  hooked  over  the  neck  as 
I  came  down  to  get  a  handful  of  hair  and  skin,  to  hold 
at,  and  support  my  weight,  and  as  quickly  liberated 
my  right  arm  and  hand,  and  thrust  my  knife  to  the 
hilt  in  the  chest  of  the  deer  at  the  neck.  It  was  a 
lucky  thrust,  splitting  the  windpipe  and  heart,  and 
we  came  down  together,  but  I  had  to  turn  in  the 
snow  to  avoid  the  ruddy  flow  from  the  nostrils  of  my 
dying  victim.  I  had  now  to  find  if  I  had  received 
any  injury,  and  found  I  had  but  a  few  scratches  to 
show,  though  my  snowshoes  had  more  serious  damages, 
requiring  more  or  less  patching  up  during  the  balance 
of  the  trip. 

When  Nay  came  up  we  dressed  and  hung  up  the 
buck  after  taking  a  few  choice  strips  for  present 
use,  and  the  deer  remained  for  ten  days  or  so  frozen. 


78  Reminiscences  of 

Being  but  a  few  miles  from  a  logging  camp.we  had  the 
buck  afterwards  dragged  out  by  the  camp  tote-sled, 
and  on  to  the  Megalloway  settlement  to  take  back 
with  us,  and  its  weight  dressed  up  was  one  hundred 
and  eighty-seven  pounds. 

Upon  another  occasion  I  killed  with  the  same 
knife  a  still  larger  buck  which  came  suddenly  upon 
me  in  the  snow  when  wounded.  The  conflict  was 
brief,  although  several  thrusts  were  required,  and 
I  escaped  with  but  few  bruises. 

We  pushed  on  for  Parmachene  Lake  at  the  head- 
waters of  the  Androscoggin  area  of  drainage,  be- 
ing situated  near  the  Canada  line  twenty-five  miles 
from  the  Megalloway  River  settlement,  passing  nearly 
two  weeks  on  this  my  first  snowshoe  excursion  to 
that  region,  which  I  was  so  much  delighted  with 
that  I  made  four  more  excursions  to  the  same  region 
in  the  following  winters  with  the  same  guide,  meeting 
with  many  adventures  and  minor  experiences  too 
numerous  to  give  much  mention  of  at  this  time. 
These  were  made  in  the  months  of  February  and 
March,  when  the  snow  was  from  four  to  seven  feet 
deep  on  the  level,  and  when  the  conditions  were  favor- 
able for  securing  large  game. 

The  method  of  camping  out  was  very  simple,  and 
consisted  of  breaking  up  primarily  the  snow  crust 
over  a  space  of  ten  feet  by  seven,  in  a  sheltered  place 
where  firewood  was  favorable,  and  then  shovelling  out 
the  loose  snow  with  snowshoes  to  within  a  foot  or  two 
of  the  bottom.  Then  a  good  mattress  of  hemlock 
boughs  is  laid  upon  the  soft  bottom  snow,  and  a  supply 
of  dry  pine  and  green  birch  or  maple  wood  secured 


A  Sportsman  79 

at  the  side  of  the  pit,  and  a  fire  made   at  the  end 
braced  up  against  a  good-sized  log  of  green  wood. 

Then  comes  a  change  of  footwear,  and  the  three 
pairs  of  woollen  socks  worn  in  snowshoeing,  if  wet,  are 
hung  up  to  dry,  where  they  will  without  scorching, 
and  then  comes  the  delicious  supper  of  broiled  bird  or 
venison  or  fish,  with  which  the  larder  may  be  supplied. 
Melted  snow  supplies  the  water  for  tea,  without  lacteal 
or  saccharine  addition,  and  ye  gods !  what  feasts  can  be 
taken  in  a  comfortable  snow  pit  by  one  who  loves  that 
sort  of  thing,  with  healthful  rest,  so  gratifying  to  the 
fatigT-ied  hunter  after  a  day's  tramp.     Then  perhaps  a 
fragrant  pipe,  sweeter  than  can  be  had  amid  the  haunts 
of  men,  away  and  alone  in  the  beautiful  and  enchant- 
ing forest.    Think  of  it :  No  bells,  or  buzzing  street  cars ; 
no  evening  papers,  or  postman ;  no  notices  of  servants' 
quittance,  or   leaking  pipes,  discussion  of  gas  bills  or 
electric  lights;   no  engagements  for  next  evening — all 
away  and  forgotten,  as  one  reclines  upon  the  fragrant 
boughs,  and  watches  the  ascending  smoke  and  sparks 
rising  through  the  overhanging  tree  limbs  toward  the 
twinkling  stars.     Perhaps  it  may  be  stormy;    then  a 
shelter  overhead  of  a  few  sticks  and  boughs,  and  the 
home  grows  more  fascinating  in  change  than  when 
the  sky  is  clear,  so  soul  filling  and  rapturous  that,  in 
excess  of  joy,  I  have  been  inclined  to  leave  it  and  roll 
in  the  snow  and  cry  out  in  very  fulness  of  heart,  and 
as  I  look  now,    nearly   half  a  century  backward,  my 
soul    swells   again   to    fulness,    and    the    recollection 
drives  away  the  forcing  cares  which  unbidden  would 
prevail.     Happy  days  were  those,  perhaps  the  hap- 
piest of  any. 

How  I  would  love,  even  now,  to  be  thrown  out 


8o  Reminiscences  of 

into  the  depths  of  the  forest  again,  and  revel  in  the 
allurements  belonging  thereto.  Would  I  enjoy  it  as 
much  as  before?  Yes,  I  am  sure  I  would,  but  the  tur- 
moils of  later  responsibilities  are  upon  me,  and  it  is 
more  difficult  to  pull  away.  But  how  fragrant  the 
memory!     How  it  softens  the  asperities  of  life. 


WITH  advancing  years,  one  becomes  more  averse 
to  the  rough  features  of  sporting  life  enjoyed 
in  early  days,  and  more  reluctant  to  face  the  nipping 
cold,  and  rest  upon  unyielding  beds,  and  so  in  late 
years  I  have  reared  comfortable  abodes  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  Rangeleys  in  Maine,  where  I  could  com- 
bine some  semblance  of  personal  comforts  in  the  midst 
of  the  primitive  forest.  There  I  have  made  annual 
and  sometimes  prolonged  visits  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury, where  I  have  been  able  to  observ-e  the  many 
peculiar  features  of  the  Fontinalis  family,  and  to 
gratify  my  taste  for  solitary  rambles  in  the  unbroken 
forest,  especially  in  the  inclement  seasons  of  winter 
when  the  charms  dispute  in  attractiveness  with  all 
others. 

When  stalking  deer  in  the  open  months  of  No- 
vember and  December — at  which  time  the  snow  is 
likely  to  be  moderately  plentiful  in  Maine,  through 
which,  soft  and  yielding,  even  to  a  depth  of  two 
feet,  the  deer  have  no  sort  of  difficulty  in  travelling 
rapidly,  and  at  a  speed  beyond  the  possibilities  of 
a  stalker  upon  snowshoes — the  stalker  must  depend 
wholly  upon  stealing  upon  an  animal  which  possesses 
the  sense  of  scent  and  hearing  far  keener  than  human 
possession,  although   it   may  be  doubted  if  it  has  a 


A  Sportsman  8i 

superior  perceptiveness  in  sight.  All  hunters  have 
seen  that  wild  animals  will  observe  a  moving  body 
with  interest  if  not  suspicion,  but  if  one  stands  per- 
fectly still,  at  first,  not  being  detected,  wild  animals  will 
often  approach  very  near,  as  I  have  repeatedly  had 
deer,  bears,  and  foxes  do.  Deer,  seeming  to  be  aware 
of  this  feature,  will  frequently  stand  motionless,  sup- 
posing themselves  to  be  unobserved,  and  will  allow 
an  intruder  to  pass  very  closely.  Foxes,  despite  their 
cunning  and  suspiciousness,  appear  to  be  more  dim- 
sighted  than  other  animals,  and  will  come  upon  you 
ver\'  frequently  in  the  fields  about  the  settlements, 
when  hunting  field-mice,  in  which  pursuit  they  seem  to 
be  wholly  absorbed,  and  by  standing  still  and  imitating 
the  faint  squeak  of  the  mouse,  one  may  tempt  them 
to  approach  within  a  few  feet. 

I  wish  I  could  do  justice  to  the  subject  of  deer 
stalking,  but  it  has  so  many  aspects,  varying  so  in 
effect  upon  the  appreciation  and  receptiveness  of  the 
stalker,  that  it  is  not  likely  that  one's  own  views 
may  be  fully  shared  by  another.  Still,  I  can  believe 
that  with  many,  the  enjoyment  does  not  wholly  con- 
sist in  the  killing  of  deer,  although  it  is  the  primary- 
object,  but,  as  in  fishing  for  trout,  the  auxiliaries  are 
the  attractive  features. 

There  is  a  wholesomeness  and  vitality  about  the 
Maine  forests  in  winter  which  is  not  found  elsewhere. 
The  cold,  the  ice,  the  snow,  the  changing  rough 
weather,  invite  to  the  robust  recreations  of  skating, 
ice-boating,  tobogganing,  and  snowshoeing.  They 
heighten  the  comforts  of  indoors.  Restful  sleep, 
appetite  and  digestion,  and  blazing  birchwood  fires 
solve  the  question,  "Is  life  worth  living?" 


82  Reminiscences  of 

Whatever  season  it  may  be,  the  Maine  forests  are 
lovely,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say  when  they  are  the 
most  so.  One  might  say  in  the  early  spring,  when 
the  buds  of  the  deciduous  trees  are  expanding  and 
the  ferns  and  brakes  unfolding,  or  when  full-fledged, 
or  in  the  decadence,  when  the  autumnal  tints  appear ;  or 
in  the  winter,  when  garnished  with  wreaths  of  snow. 

The  period  of  falling  leaves  is  exceptionally  charm- 
ing. As  the  leaves  fall  they  exude  the  various  odors 
of  their  belonging,  so  that  one  with  closed  eyes  may 
tell  the  character  of  the  prevailing  trees.  I  have 
often  thought  of  the  pleasure  I  should  take  if  I  were 
blind  in  walking  among  the  localities  I  am  familiar 
with,  when  the  pleasant  recognition  of  well-known 
trees  would  guide  my  steps. 

In  my  taste  the  late  fall  and  first  half  of  the  winter 
dispute  with  any  other  season,  and  I  am  not  sure  if 
I  do  not  prefer  the  rough  and  changing  time  of  winter 
at  the  lakes,  with  its  accompaniments,  to  any  other. 
At  least  the  summer  is  too  short  and  the  scene  must 
lap  over.  Tell  me  not  of  orange  groves  and  flowers, 
and  vines  with  clinging  clusters,  but  of  the  winter 
forest  in  its  kaleidoscopic  beauty,  and  of  the  lakes  in 
their  broad  mantles  of  ice  and  snow.  The  singing  of 
the  wind  around  the  tree-tops  and  the  whirling  flakes 
have  more  charm  for  my  accustomed  sight  and  ear 
than  the  cooing  of  the  dove  in  midsummer  bower. 

There  are  scarcely  any  Maine  forests,  however 
tangled  they  may  appear,  which  do  not  possess 
pleasant  and  accessible  reaches  of  park -like  valleys 
and  hillsides,  or  rounded  ridges  of  hardwood  growth 
or  pine,  allowing  comfortable  travelling  for  the  stalker. 
Possessed  with  the  unerring  compass  and  a  tolerable 


A  Sportsman  83 

familiarity  with  the  region  marks,  he  advances  upon 
the  proposed  Une,  which  may  include  some  miles  of 
circuit.  There  must  be  an  object  in  all  efforts  to  give 
zest,  whether  we  walk,  drive,  sail,  bike,  or  shoot; 
somewhere  to  go,  something  to  realize.  So  with  the 
deer  stalker,  his  primary  object  is  to  get  deer,  and  it 
matters  little  in  one  sense  if  he  succeeds  or  not,  and 
the  latter  is  generally  the  case.  But  if  he  is  of  an  ap- 
preciative cast,  the  surroundings  are  inhabited  with 
charming  life  and  enjoyment. 

Most  stalkers  will  concede  that  at  no  time  of  the 
year  are  their  rambles  more  agreeable  than  when  the 
ground  is  half  carpeted  with  the  yellow,  brown,  and 
crimson  leaves  which  announce  the  opening  of  the 
hunting  season. 

The  deer  are  now  found  more  in  the  open  growth, 
and  with  the  cooler  weather  range  about  extensively. 
It  is  the  approach  of  the  mating  season,  and  frequent 
are  the  saplings  with  scarred  bark,  caused  by  the 
whetting  of  antlers  preparatory  to  rival  encounters. 
Here  and  there  are  bare  spots  and  scattered  dead- 
wood  which  have  been  pawed  in  the  impatient  spirit 
of  combat. 

The  deer — timid  as  supposed — is  possessed  of  an 
indomitable  and  persistent  courage  in  conflict  with 
its  own  kind,  and  will  fight  to  the  extremity  of  weak- 
ness and  even  death  before  yielding.  I  have  witnessed 
a  good  many  scenes  of  this  character,  where  the 
trampled  ground  and  broken  shrubs  indicated  des- 
perate encounters. 

At  one  place,  a  few  miles  from  the  lake,  I  witnessed 
in  December  a  scene  which  indicated  a  meeting  of 
particular    ferocity.     I    had    tracked    a    large    buck 


84  Reminiscences  of 

through  eight  inches  of  snow.  The  buck  had  evi- 
dently found  several  others  in  conflict,  and  being  a 
free  lance,  and  at  a  free  fight,  had  immediately  engaged. 
The  snow  was  completely  crushed  and  tumbled  over 
an  area  somewhat  larger  than  an  ordinary  circus  ring, 
and  it  was  decidedly  apparent  that  a  stag  circus  of 
unusual  magnitude  had  occiirred  without  the  super- 
vision of  a  ringmaster,  or  the  encoiiraging  plaudits 
of  spectators.  I  counted  five  departing  trails,  and  the 
performance  had  probably  terminated  several  hours  in 
advance  of  my  arrival.  Probably  one  by  one  the 
vanquished  had  departed,  until  the  acknowledged 
champion  held  the  field.  Such  seems  to  have  been 
the  case,  as  the  trails  were  diverging.  One  champion 
exhibited  the  hasty  and  kidicrous  method  of  his  exit 
by  leaping  over  a  broken  tree  six  feet  in  height,  when 
a  projecting  fractixre  had  creased  his  body  the  whole 
length  in  passing,  leaving  a  bountiful  handful  of  hair 
and  fragmentary  cuticle  in  evidence.  This  might  be 
accounted  a  feeling  instance  of  the  P.  P.  C.  order  of 
etiquette  with  the  Cervus  family.  The  trampled  area 
was  flecked  with  enough  hirsute  scrapings  to  fill  a 
good-sized  pillow,  with  occasional  spatterings  of  scarlet 
coloring. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  buck,  however  large  and  sav- 
age, will  charge  a  stalker  when  wounded,  but  occa- 
sionally— though  very  rarely — he  will,  and  a  friend 
of  mine  will  carry  the  scar  for  life  of  a  face  disfigure- 
ment from  a  wounded  buck  he  shot  at,  which  came 
upon  him  with  such  sudden  force  that  he  had  no  time 
for  defence,  and  was  struck  in  the  face  by  an  antler 
which  broke  his  jaw-bone,  and  stove  out  several  of  his 
teeth.     The  buck  then  passed  on  out  of  sight. 


A  Sportsman  85 

I  recall  another  instance  of  an  experienced  deer 
hunter  of  powerful  build,  a  friend  of  mine,  who  had 
a  wounded  buck  come  upon  him  so  suddenly  that  he 
could  only  seize  him  by  the  horns  as  they  tumbled 
over  together,  and  which  he  held  down  for  some  time, 
but  found  he  could  not  get  away  from,  for  every  time 
he  loosened  up,  the  buck  would  renew  his  attack, 
declining  any  retreat.  For  more  than  half  an  hour  he 
carried  on  the  struggle,  and  though  powerful  enough 
to  hold  the  deer  down,  he  felt  his  strength  declining, 
while  that  of  the  buck  seemed  as  much  as  ever.  He 
had  an  ordinary  pocket-knife  which  he  finally  managed 
to  get  out  and  open,  and  stabbed  the  buck  with  the 
short  blade  many  times  without  reaching  a  vital  spot, 
and  began  to  despair  that  he  would  ever  get  out  of  the 
scrape,  as  he  was  becoming  exhausted.  He  nerved 
up,  however,  and  centred  the  work  of  his  knife  at  the 
throat  and  finally  severed  the  jugular  vein,  and  the 
buck,  fighting  to  the  last,  gradually  weakened  by  the 
loss  of  life-blood,  yielded  to  the  inevitable.  Bruised 
and  bleeding,  the  victor  related  to  me,  he  was  so  faint 
that  he  laid  himself  out  beside  the  vanquished  for 
more  than  an  hour  before  he  could  wend  his  homeward 
way. 

With  the  fall  of  snow  the  deer  stalker  finds  new 
delight.  With  the  luxury  of  well-stockinged  and  moc- 
casined  feet,  he  goes  forth  to  new  realms  of  enchant- 
ment. The  atmosphere  is  of  buoyant  and  stimulating 
energy.  The  arboreal  and  shrub  life  is  invested  with 
crystallizations  of  dazzling  purity,  each  one  being  a 
marvel  beyond  the  art  of  man.  The  consciousness  of 
being  alone  in   a   wide    expanse    of    forest,    beyond 


86  Reminiscences  of 

habitations  and  the  sound  of  human  voice,  is  in  itself 
for  the  nonce  a  sensation  of  reUef . 

The  reaches  of  pine  groves  and  of  beech  and  of 
maple,  all  interspersed  with  birch — the  loveliest  tree  of 
northern  climes — are  inspiring.     They  say: 

' '  Come  and  explore  me.  We  have  waited  long  and 
you  came  not.  Now  you  shall  bear  witness  to  our 
grandeur  and  solitude,  and  have  contemplation.  See 
in  us  the  prototypes  of  your  own  race,  how  we  rise  and 
fall.  We  flourish  in  prosperity  and  topple  in  misfor- 
tune. We  stand  apart,  some  rugged  and  gnarled  as 
some  of  your  own  kind,  defying  the  wintry  blast,  but 
others  are  nurtured  in  protection.  Some  are  comely 
and  others  scarred.  See  in  us  your  own  history,  to 
start  forth  and  bear  and  die.  Your  sun  of  light  is  ours, 
and  the  sky  to  all,  and  the  air  you  breathe  is  our  life. 
Yonder  broad  stump  is  the  monument  of  a  patriarch 
of  old.  There  were  giants  in  those  days,  but  none 
now,  for  they  have  been  taken  to  rib  your  homes  and 
deck  your  ocean  messengers." 

At  the  hour  of  noon  the  stalker  rests  before  a  dead 
and  broken  pine,  which  with  match  and  birch  peelings 
is  soon  ablaze.  His  simple  luncheon  becomes  a  precious 
blessing,  and  may  be  followed  by  the  incense  of  fra- 
grant pipe.  What  more  shall  be  required  to  fill  the 
day's  cup  of  happiness  than  the  comfort  of  the  home 
fire  at  night  and  the  panacea  of  Nature's  most  enjoy- 
able fatigue? 

After  my  first  winter  fishing  trip  in  1858  to  the 
Rangeleys  I  made  perhaps  a  dozen  more  in  succeeding 
years,  generally  in  the  months  of  December  and  Janu- 
ary, finding  much  satisfaction  in  the  change  from  the 
confinement  of  town  life,  with  the  attractiveness  of 


A  Sportsman  87 

taking  such  fine,  large  trout,  always  in  good  form,  and 
surpassing  all  others  of  which  I  have  known. 

Despite  the  sometimes  unfavorable  weather,  when 
storms  and  cold  predominated,  the  pleasures  and 
realizations  of  buoyant  cheerfulness,  appetite,  and 
sleep  well  repaid  all  privations  and  inconveniences. 
Sometimes  it  was  difficult  to  get  there,  owing  to  heavy 
snowfalls  and  unbroken  roads,  requiring  two  or  three 
days  from  the  settlement  to  get  through  and  estab- 
lished. But  this  was  the  commencement  of  fun,  of 
which  there  was  no  cessation.  There  were  no  settle- 
ments then  within  miles  of  the  lakes  we  visited,  and  we 
had  to  haul  in  our  supplies  on  bob-sleds.  Sometimes  the 
ice  would  be  treacherous,  and  we  would  break  through 
with  our  horses,  but  no  particular  danger  attended  this, 
though  we  once  lost  a  pair  of  horses,  which  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  carelessness  of  the  driver,  who  ventured 
beyond  the  route  which  had  been  lined  and  tested  by 
axe  strokes.  This  was  in  early  December  when  the 
ice  was  thin  at  places,  and  in  this  place  of  breaking 
through  the  ice  all  about  was  too  thin  to  allow  any 
leverage  to  pry  up  the  horses  so  that  they  could  be 
pulled  out,  and  we  had  to  abandon  them  as  the  weather 
was  very  cold,  below  zero,  and  darkness  coming  on. 

We  often  got  horses  in  over  spring  holes  where  the 
water  below  had  cut  the  ice  thin,  and  at  cracks  and 
blow-out  holes.  But  it  was  a  simple  method  the 
natives  had,  though  not  gentle.  Always  having  ropes 
on  the  sled,  a  rope  with  a  noose  was  thrown  over  a 
horse's  head  after  it  was  detached  from  the  sled, 
the  latter  being  pulled  back,  seldom  going  in  with 
the  team.  The  horse,  being  well  choked,  swells 
up  in  the  body,  which  prevents  sinking.     A  stout  pole, 


88  Reminiscences  of 

generally  carried  on  the  sled,  is  inserted  under  the  body 
of  the  horse,  which  is  pried  up  until  a  portion  of  the 
fore  part  lifts  on  the  ice,  and  then  all  hands,  pulling  on 
the  rope,  slide  out  the  horse  on  the  stronger  ice.  If 
with  a  pair  of  horses,  the  method  is  repeated  with  the 
second,  it  being  choked  up  to  flotation  while  the  first 
horse  is  being  pulled  out.  Unless  the  weather  is  par- 
ticularly cold,  and  if  the  horse  is  not  in  the  water  too 
long,  it  can  generally  get  up  on  its  feet.  If  not,  it  is 
helped  up,  and  moved  about  until  it  regains  some 
activity.  Then  harnessing  up  takes  place,  and  we 
move  on. 

We  never  lost  any  horses,  excepting  in  the  instance 
mentioned.  Although  the  treatment  given  seems 
rough,  I  have  not  known  any  injury  from  it,  or  even 
a  complaint  from  the  patients,  who,  doubtless,  were 
grateful  enough  for  escape  from  drowning  by  being 
thus  promptly  treated.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
equines  employed  on  the  lake  roads  are  not  up  to  the 
standard  valuation  of  the  pedigreed  stock  we  often 
hear  of,  as  frequenters  of  the  lakes  will  readily  admit. 

To  break  in  when  skating  or  fishing  is  a  small  mat- 
ter, and  one  crawls  out  without  difficulty,  and  if  the 
weather  is  moderate  may  go  on,  draining  and  warm- 
ing up  with  active  movement,  but  if  the  weather  is 
about  zero,  one  should  seek  shelter.  The  danger  from 
breaking  in  when  the  ice  first  makes,  and  is  thin,  arises 
from  the  inability  to  find  sustaining  ice  about  the  break. 
Then  if  one  is  without  a  long  pole  to  lay  on  the  ice  to 
spread  his  weight  over  some  space,  he  is  in  danger  with- 
out extraneous  aid,  unless  he  is  so  near  the  shore  that 
he  can  break  ice  to  it. 

The  unifomiity  of  thin  ice  is  a  feature  of  great 


A  Sportsman  89 

danger,  and  to  be  most  cautiously  approached,  and 
when  travelled  over  should  be  on  a  line  close  to  the 
shore.  I  have  often  gone  up  the  lake  shores  for  a 
matter  of  ten  or  twelve  miles,  impatient  of  reach- 
ing camp,  when  finding  the  ice  thinner  than  expected, 
and  unsafe  for  teams  or  even  men  on  foot,  had  to 
keep  along  the  shore  ice  on  snowshoes,  drawing  sleds 
with  long  ropes  behind.  New  ice  is  particularly 
tenacious,  and  although  it  will  crack  and  seam,  will, 
when  no  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  readily 
hold  up  a  man  of  ordinary  weight,  and  a  man  on  snow- 
shoes  can  safely  creep  along  on  an  inch  of  new  ice. 

The  swelling  and  contraction  of  ice  in  changing 
weather  gives  a  good  many  curious  features.  One 
day  when  several  of  us  were  proceeding  along  on 
the  ice  near  the  lake  shore  for  camp — there  being  no 
roads  through  the  woods,  and  the  shores  being  so 
beset  with  cedars,  stumps,  and  drift  that  we  could 
hardly  get  along  there  with  our  sleds — w^e  were  startled 
by  a  crack  which  sounded  louder  than  a  rifle-shot 
near  us,  and  looking  back,  we  saw  just  behind  an  open 
space  in  the  ice,  eight  or  ten  feet  wide,  where  we 
had  just  passed,  extending  from  the  shore  across  the 
lake  to  the  other  side,  a  mile  and  a  half  distant.  Later 
on  we  heard  another  report  ahead,  and  when  we 
proceeded  two  or  three  miles  farther,  we  found  a 
second  opening  across  the  lake,  which,  of  course,  we 
had  to  go  around.  The  day  had  come  out  warm  and 
sunny  and  caused  the  contraction. 

In  cold  weather  the  ice  expands,  and  on  a  very  cold 
night  when  it  is  thick  on  the  lake,  you  are  regaled  in  the 
still  hours  by  the  constant  rumbling  and  cracking  and 
at  times  with  sounds  approaching  the  explosion  of 


90  Reminiscences  of 

cannon  in  the  distance,  and  large  ridges  of  ice  will  be 
thrown  up  under  pressure  across  the  whole  lake,  across 
which  you  will  have  to  cut  away  a  passage  to  get  a 
team  through,  and  large  masses  of  ice  will  be  thrown 
on  the  surrounding  level  as  if  out-thrown  by  powder 
below. 

The  pressure  of  expanding  ice  is  immense,  equal  to 
several  thousand  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  and  if  you 
fill  with  water  an  iron  ball  with  a  shell  two  inches 
thick  and  plug  it  up  and  expose  it  to  extreme  cold,  it 
will  easily  crack  open.  Therefore  the  pressure  of  thick 
ice  in  a  lake  will  at  times  expand  with  such  force  as  to 
throw  out  the  shore  ice  on  land  in  the  twinkling  of  the 
eye,  making  a  wall  difficult  to  get  over.  I  once  saw 
while  on  the  lake  a  shore  ice  wall  commence  a  mile 
above  me,  where  it  got  a  start,  and  go  two  miles  below 
in  a  few  seconds,  with  a  roar  beyond  that  of  half  a 
dozen  railroad  trains. 

When  the  lake  was  artificially  raised  some  years 
ago,  for  impounding  more  water  for  the  Androscoggin 
River  and  the  mills  below  at  Lewiston,  an  island  not 
very  far  from  my  camp,  of  an  area  of  a  few  acres,  was 
flooded  and  frozen  over  in  the  following  winter.  This 
island  had  quite  a  growth  of  pine  and  cedars  on  it. 
One  of  my  men  was  near  when  a  strong  movement  of 
the  ice  occurred,  and  saw  the  crushing  and  toppling  of 
the  timbers  as  they  were  carried  along  by  the  moving 
ice  all  out  of  place,  as  shown  the  following  spring. 


THERE  are  great  extremes  of  cold  at  the  lakes  from 
their  altitude  of  1500  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the 
winter  snows  fall  more  heavily  there  than  perhaps  at 
any  other  locality  in  the  country.     The  ice  commences 


A  Sportsman  91 

making  in  November,  and  by  December  loth  is  gener- 
ally strong  enough  to  bear  teams  over  it,  and  accu- 
mulates in  thickness  until  February,  and  does  not  go 
out  for  spring  fishing  on  an  average  before  May  loth. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  freezing  of  the  great 
lake,  commencing  in  November.  The  deciduous  trees 
have  cast  their  last  leaves,  which  to  the  end  have 
semblance  of  October's  gaudy  tints,  and  evergreens 
have  grown  darker,  and  the  shades  of  the  valley  ranges 
have  a  cold  and  steely  look,  and  the  mountains  are 
deeper  in  blue. 

The  late  autumnal  days  have  surely  come,  and  little 
flvuries  of  snow  and  with  them  chickadees  are  in  evi- 
dence. The  ground  freezes  at  night,  and  hea\'y  frosts 
glitter  in  the  morning  sun.  The  last  few  flowers,  and 
even  the  everlasting  flower,  which  survived  October's 
cold,  fall  supinely  in  dark  coloring.  The  blue  heron 
and  kingfisher — deadly  destroyers  of  small  iry — ^have 
winged  away,  and  the  great  American  diver,  or  the 
loon,  which  breeds  at  the  lake,  has  taken  flight.  The 
ducks  and  geese  fly  over  hurriedly  with  southern  trend. 
The  robins,  darling  birds,  are  summer  joys,  who  have 
bred  in  the  bordering  trees  and  proudh^  brought  out 
their  young  broods  upon  the  lawn,  and  taught  them 
how  to  catch  the  angleworm,  seeking  the  cool  and  moist- 
ure of  the  earl}-  morning.  They,  too,  have  thinned  out, 
though  some  stay  all  winter.  The  deer  have  left  the 
uplands  for  the  cedar  swamps.  The  frogs  have  ceased 
their  croaking  and  night  calls,  and  are  floating  lan- 
guidly about  on  the  lake's  surface,  preparatory  to  their 
dive  for  dormant  winter  quarters  in  the  bottom  mud. 
The  trout,  big  fellows  with  mates,  five  and  six  pounders, 
are  crowding  on  the  spawning  beds  in  their  ver}'  height 


92  Reminiscences  of 

of  coloring,  in  their  best  suits,  with  mottled  backs  and 
carmine  spangles,  tender  in  their  love,  and  fierce  in 
defending.  How  beautiful  their  blending  of  yellow, 
scarlet,  and  orange.  How  tame  and  seeming  fond  of 
attention.  How  many  hours  and  days  and  weeks  I 
have  watched  them,  and  for  almost  half  a  hundred 
years  have  I  been  among  them,  and  some  of  them  seem 
like  old  friends,  and  I  meet  them  after  a  year's  ab- 
sence, for  I  have  known  some  of  them  for  years,  large 
fellows,  and  recognize  them  readily  in  the  same  place 
year  after  year ;  and  one  I  had  so  tame — partially  con- 
fined with  others — that  feeding  from  my  hands  was 
frequent,  and  I  have  taken  this  one  out  of  the  water 
momentarily  with  my  hands,  more  than  once.  But  I 
must  not  go  on  with  trout,  or  I  will  never  end. 

I  will  give  you  later  on,  perhaps,  more  of  trout  than 
you  will  care  to  read,  and  I  leave  the  subject  reluc- 
tantly to  go  on  with  the  ice.  The  ice  first  commences 
to  freeze  in  the  nooks  and  little  bays  in  its  delicate  in- 
terlacing threads  of  crystallizations,  where  perhaps  it 
holds,  protected  from  the  waves,  and  gradually  reaches 
out  into  the  open,  where  it  is  to  be  broken  up  many 
times.  The  lake,  though  cold  enough  to  freeze,  does 
not,  owing  to  the  water  motion.  It  grows  steadily 
colder,  and  the  water,  dashing  up  on  the  fringing 
shore,  varnishes  the  rocks  and  shrubbery  with  its 
crystallizations. 

In  a  still  night  the  ice  wreathes  over  a  large  space, 
to  be  again  disrupted,  and  again  and  again,  while  in 
the  protected  coves,  it  solidifies  more  and  more,  giving 
some  skating.  Then,  after  a  cold,  still  night,  the 
morning  exhibits  a  frozen  surface,  but  this  is  not  a 
final  closing,  for  a  good  blow  breaks  it  all  up  again,  by 


A  Sportsman  93 

starting  an  opening,  from  which  it  rips  up  the  whole 
length  of  the  lake  with  surprising  rapidity.  But  old 
Winter  is  stubborn  and  keeps  on  with  his  inevitable 
grasp,  and  stilling  the  wind  upon  a  colder  night,  skims 
over  the  lake  with  half  an  inch  or  more  of  crystalliza- 
tion, and  keeping  still  the  wind  the  following  day, 
adds  half  an  inch  or  more.  Not  even  then  is  the 
victor^'- gained,  for  Boreas,  now  rampant,  sends  down 
a  blast  from  the  north,  breaking  up  the  ice  for  a  mile 
or  more,  and  leaping  over  for  another  mile  breaks  in 
below  and  tears  open  a  mile  or  two,  and  so  on  for  ten 
miles,  skipping  alternate  miles  perhaps. 

Then  cold  weather,  continuing,  thickens  up  the 
frozen  spaces,  strong  enough  to  bear  teams,  while  the 
open  places  are  still  kept  unfrozen  by  the  envious  gales, 
until  caught  by  a  still  night,  when  the  open  spaces  are 
cased  over  and  one  continuous  mantle  of  ice  reaches  from 
one  lake  end  to  the  other.  Then  the  lake  is  closed  un- 
til the  first  part  of  May  following,  and  upon  the  ice  falls 
the  winter  accumulations  of  snow,  and  as  this  weight 
depresses  the  ice  surface,  the  water  arises  over  the 
latter,  permeating  the  snow  and  creating  a  top  of  snow 
ice  which  may  be  several  feet  in  thickness. 

Despite  this  accumulation,  more  or  less  soft  places 
occur  over  springs  in  places  where  the  water  is  not  very 
deep,  which  cut  away  the  ice,  requiring  caution  in  pass- 
ing over,  though  the  danger  from  going  in  is  not  great, 
as  the  surrounding  ice  is  strong  enough  to  bear  one's 
weight  in  getting  out.  Horses  are  worked  out  in  the 
manner  I  have  before  described,  and  many  times  I  have 
gone  in  and  aided  in  extracting  horses  without  loss. 

It  was  at  one  of  the  periods  I  have  referred  to  when 
the  lake  was  ribbed  with  alternate  strips  of  ice  from  a 


94  Reminiscences  of 

mile  to  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width,  with  equal  open 
places,  in  the  month  of  November,  over  a  distance  of 
eleven  miles  from  the  foot  of  the  lake  where  the  logging 
road  ended  to  my  camp,  that  I  made  a  notable  excur- 
sion for  deer  stalking  with  Governor  William  E.  Rus- 
sell and  a  party  of  friends  to  the  lake.  The  election  in 
Massachusetts  had  just  occurred,  being  the  last  election 
of  Governor  Russell  in  the  State,  and  at  our  time  of 
leaving  Boston  it  had  not  been  clearly  shown  from  the 
returns  whether  Russell  had  been  elected  or  not,  to 
which  he  was  somewhat  indifferent,  for  he  was  fatigued 
and  tired  from  many  election  speeches  in  the  Common- 
wealth, having  made  from  ten  to  twenty  addresses 
each  day  for  two  or  three  weeks.  But  the  subject  was 
hardly  one  for  discussion  during  our  excursion,  and  our 
start-off  was  a  rather  sudden  one.  We  had  talked 
about  going,  but  I  had  little  idea  of  our  taking  the  trip, 
and  was  in  New  York  for  a  few  days,  preparatory  to 
my  departure  for  California  for  the  winter,  when  I 
received  a  long  telegram  from  the  Governor  reciting 
his  fatigue  from  the  election  work,  asking  if  I  would 
take  him  to  camp  for  a  rest  with  three  or  four  mutual 
friends,  and  if  I  could  not  go  immediately. 

It  required  but  a  few  moments'  deliberation  for  me 
to  make  up  my  mind  affirmatively,  though  I  had  re- 
turned from  the  lake  but  a  few  days  before,  where  I 
had  been  for  several  months,  closing  my  camp  for  the 
season,  leaving  in  charge  my  usual  keeper  for  the 
winter,  in  care  of  my  dogs,  and  to  cut  wood  and  ice  for 
the  following  year,  not  expecting  to  return  until  the 
following  May  for  the  spring  fishing.  The  ice  had 
commenced  to  form  in  places,  when  I  passed  down 
the  lake,  and  I  had  to  break  my  way  through  it  some 


A  Sportsman  95 

distance  to  reach  the  shore  at  the  logging  road  of  exit. 
But  I  answered  Yes,  and  would  join  the  Governor  for 
departure  from  Boston  in  two  days  after. 

I  put  the  telegraph  in  requisition,  sending  a  mes- 
sage to  the  nearest  town  from  camp,  twenty-odd  miles 
away,  to  send  a  special  messenger  to  my  camp  keeper 
to  have  four  or  five  boats  at  the  end  of  the  lake  on  the 
fourth  day  from  date,  with  skates,  wraps,  etc.  Another 
to  my  cook  in  Boston,  a  German  woman  ready  for  any 
emergency,  whom  I  had  employed  for  several  years, 
and  carried  back  and  forth  from  camp  to  California, 
and  who  well  knew  my  ways;  one  of  stout  heart  and 
accustomed  to  adventure  and  rapid  execution,  to  whom 

I  had  given  a  week's  rest  before  her  leaving  for  Cali- 
fornia. I  telegraphed  her  to  start  the  following  day 
for  the  town  nearest  the  lake,  where  she  would  be 
joined  by  my  two  guides  who  had  been  with  me  for  a 
dozen  years,  and  to  get  to  camp  as  best  they  could, 
and  have  dinner  ready  at  half-past  six  on  the  fourth 
day  for  half  a  dozen.  The  distance  then  was  forty- 
four  miles  from  the  railroad,  two  thirds  by  road  and 
one  third  by  water.  I  then  telegraphed  for  sundry 
stores  wanting,  to  be  sent  to  the  lake. 

All  went  well.  We  left  Boston  on  the  set  day, 
going  to  Portland,  where  we  remained  over  night, 
taking  an  early  train  the  following  morning,  and,  after 
going  seventy-five  miles,  arrived  at  the  railroad  end  at 

I I  o'clock.  We  had  then  forty-four  miles  to  make  be- 
fore dark,  and  the  days  were  short. 

As  we  left  the  cars,  a  large  stage  sleigh  with  four 
spirited  horses,  previously  ordered,  was  waiting.  The 
sleighing  was  superb  over  a  well-broken  road,  and  we 
made  the  run  of  twenty-two  miles  to  Andover  in  two 
hours  and  a  half,  changing  horses  midway.     At  the  last 


96  Reminiscences  of 

town  we  had  lunch  prepared  for  us,  and  with  three  two- 
horse  pungs  took  the  last  road  through  the  woods  to  the 
lake,  twelve  miles,  which  we  did  in  record  time.  From 
the  last  town  we  had  at  our  backs  a  powerful  southerly- 
gale,  and  when  we  arrived  at  the  lake  it  was  blowing 
great  guns.  Here  were  our  two  guides  and  camp 
keeper  and  two  boats,  with  the  lake  end  frozen  over 
solid  as  far  as  we  cotdd  well  see — not  far,  owing  to  the 
curvation  of  the  land, — and  we  were  told  that  the  ice 
stopped  a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  and  then  came  open 
water  for  a  mile,  and  then  ice,  and  so  on  alternately  to 
camp,  ten  miles  distant.  It  was  great  fun,  and  a  re- 
markable trip  we  made  with  the  gale  driving  us  on; 
we  could  hardly  stand  against  the  wind. 

The  Governor  and  I  put  on  skates  and  went  off 
flying,  for  there  was  no  snow  to  obstruct.  Our  guides 
had  thoughtfully  brought  down  foiu"  sleds  to  put  the 
boats  on  to  haul  them  on  the  ice,  and  as  they  saw  the 
gale  was  strong  enough  to  carry"  the  boats  along  on 
the  sleds,  had  blocked  up  the  boats  on  them  and  pro- 
vided themselves  with  short,  stout  poles,  with  heavy, 
sticking-out  nails  in  the  ends  to  steer  by.  Very  in- 
genious are  these  Maine  guides.  After  loading  up,  they 
let  go  with  the  wind,  somewhat  irregularly  at  first,  but 
in  fine  form  after  a  while,  and  the  boats  sledded  over 
the  ice  about  as  fast  as  the  Governor  and  I  could  go  on 
skates.  The  great  bother  was  to  stop  before  the  open 
water,  but  it  was  managed.  Then  we  all  loaded  into 
the  boats  and  pulled  across  the  open,  to  take  the  ice 
again,  and  so  on,  shifting  half  a  dozen  times,  and  arriv- 
ing at  camp  somewhat  in  the  dark.  The  camp  was  lit 
up  as  a  beacon  of  glorious  expectation,  and  glad  we  were 


A  Sportsman  97 

to  arrive  in  such  good  season,  where  Providence  seemed 
to  have  been  so  entirely  with  us. 

With  blazing  birchwood  fires,  and  dinner  soon  fol- 
lowing, we  were  jubilant  with  hopes  of  the  morrow  and 
following  days. 

The  lake  was  open  north  ahead  of  us,  and  at  a  good 
hour  in  the  morning  we  were  pulling  our  boats  over  it 
four  miles  to  the  head,  where  we  landed,  and  followed 
a  trail  for  a  mile  to  a  pond  of  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length, 
an  adjunctive  log  camp  I  had  there  in  the  woods  by 
the  shore.  Here  we  remained  over  night,  still  farther 
advanced  in  the  wilderness  of  trees,  our  aim  for  the 
moment  being  to  get  away  as  far  as  possible  from  the 
busy  haunts  of  men.  After  lunch  we  sallied  out  in 
various  directions,  trusting  to  fall  in  with  some  strag- 
gling members  of  the  Cervus  family,  and  did,  but  failed 
to  score,  and  found  a  comfortable  night's  rest  in  our 
sheltered  home. 

The  gale  had  subsided,  and  the  night  was  tolerably 
cold,  at  zero,  still,  and  the  morning  clear.  We  were  off 
after  a  light  breakfast  before  the  sun  smiled  upon  us, 
and  before  ten  o'clock  had  a  fat  doe  to  our  credit. 
After  lunch  we  returned  to  the  lake  for  home  camp. 

We  speedily  saw,  as  we  expected,  that  passage  over 
the  lake  was  impossible  for  walking  or  boating,  as  it  was 
entirely  frozen  over,  and  of  too  delicate  cast  for  bear- 
ing, and  too  solid  for  breaking  passage  for  our  boats. 
So  we  hauled  the  boats  higher  on  the  shore,  with  bot- 
toms up  and  oars  beneath,  and  deserted  them  with 
affectionate  regards.  The  fun  was  deepening  with  rip- 
ples of  crimson  and  gold,  and  although  our  tramp 
through  the  pathless  woods  was  up  and  down  hill,  and 
across  some  tangled  swamps  and  windfalls,  and  to  the 


gS  Reminiscences  of 

extent  of  five  miles  or  more  in  our  detours,  it  was  full 
of  interest  and  gayety,  with  occasional  rests  at  fallen 
logs  for  chat  and  solace  of  pipe. 

What  fun  the  early  explorers  had  despite  their 
privations  and  toils,  in  rest  and  liberty — Clark  and 
Lewis,  in  1804,  the  first  to  cross  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific;  Captain  Bonneville,  in  1835;  Parkman 
and  Pike,  and  the  romantic  adventurers'  account  of 
the  Astoria  expedition.  Nothing  for  man  is  more 
refreshing  and  strengthening  than  to  get  away  from 
the  exciting  and  strenuous  life  of  business  and  profes- 
sional work,  than  change  to  the  restoring  virtues  of 
rest  and  contemplation  to  be  found  among  the  waters 
and  forests  which  remain  in  a  primitive  condition. 

Governor  Russell  told  me  that  never  in  his  life  had 
he  felt  more  fatigued  and  worn  than  when  he  com- 
menced this  excursion,  and  never  more  refreshed  and 
buoyant  for  labor  than  upon  his  return. 

I  put  up  a  joke  on  the  Governor  on  this  trip  which 
was  rather  amusing.  When  we  arrived  on  board  the 
cars,  in  leaving  Boston,  he  was  the  recipient  of  many 
congratulations  from  accompanying  passengers  upon 
the  supposed  results  of  the  election,  and  when  we  ar- 
rived at  Portland  he  was  greeted  by  a  committee  of 
welcome,  which  he  vainly  sought  to  avoid,  and  at 
several  towns  en  route  we  found  delegations  of  welcome 
in  waiting,  and  it  was  thought  necessary  at  our  last 
town — where  we  took  pungs  for  the  last  nm  through 
the  woods  to  the  lake — for  a  delegation  of  rustic  resi- 
dents, who  had  become  advised  of  the  visit,  to  appear 
and  give  a  final  send-off.  The  Governor,  as  we  sped 
away  from  the  settlement,  said: 

"Thank  heavens,  this  welcome  business  is  now  over, 


A  Sportsman  99 

and  we  will  settle  down  to  ourselves  and  our  mutton." 
But  not  so,  as  appeared. 

After  a  few  days  at  camp,  I  made  a  trip  with  the 
Governor  and  one  of  the  guides  across  the  woods  to 
another  lake,  where  deer  were  promising  in  number, 
and  we  proceeded  up  a  trail  from  the  lake  for  a  mile  or 
so  to  an  old  deserted  logging  camp  that  I  knew  of.  I 
had  prepared  in  advance  an  old  cot  sheet  with  the 
words,  "Welcome,  Governor  Russell,"  prominently  dis- 
played upon  it  with  a  marking  brush,  and  this  I  had 
the  guide  pack  away  in  his  knapsack,  instructing  him 
how  to  act  with  it.  Before  we  reached  the  camp  over 
the  virgin  untrodden  snow,  at  a  babbling  brook  which 
crossed  the  road  I  signalled  the  guide  to  take  a  turn 
off  to  the  right  and  see  if  he  found  any  fresh  tracks, 
while  the  Governor  and  I  would  rest  and  have  a  pipe 
at  the  brook.  The  guide  started  off  and  proceeded 
around  to  the  rear  of  the  old  camp,  which  he  entered 
through  the  old  window-place,  and  tacked  over  the  front 
door,  without  disturbing  the  snow  in  front,  the  sheet  of 
welcome,  and  returning  the  same  way  as  in  entering, 
joined  us  at  our  resting-place,  with  the  report  that  he 
had  not  found  any  fresh  tracks ;  and  we  proceeded  on, 
putting  the  Governor  in  the  lead  that  he  might  get  the 
first  crack  at  a  deer.  When  the  Governor,  well  in  the 
lead,  saw  the  old  camp  in  the  way  with  its  blazing  in- 
scription, he  stopped  and  beckoned  me  up  to  him,  and 
pointing  at  the  conspicuous  welcome,  said: 

"Why,  what  's  that?" 

Rubbing  and  straining  my  eyes  to  the  reading,  I 
said: 

"Why,  it  says,  'Welcome,  Governor  Russell';  don't 
you  see  what  it  is?" 


loo  Reminiscences  of 

"Yes,"  said  Russell,  "but  how  came  it  here?" 

"Why,"  said  I,  after  some  thought,  "it  must  have 
been  put  up  by  the  Mollychunkamunks,  the  settlers 
from  the  upper  Megalloway." 

"But  there  are  no  tracks,"  said  the  Governor;  "no 
one  has  been  here  for  some  days." 

The  guide  and  I  had  to  break  out  then,  in  which 
the  Governor  heartily  joined,  though  much  mysti- 
fied until  he,  pulling  open  the  door,  saw  the  drifted 
snow  inside  disturbed  and  the  snowshoe  tracks  from 
the  rear  window.  We  had  it  pretty  hard  on  Russell 
that  night  when  he  returned  and  he  related  his  ex- 
perience amid  the  hilarity  of  our  companions,  and  it 
was  some  time  before  he  heard  the  last  of  "Welcome, 
Govemior  Russell." 

Poor  Russell,  he  died  suddenly  a  few  years  after  at 
a  salmon-fishing  stream  in  Canada.  He  was  of  modest 
and  sportsmanlike  quality,  never  happier  than  when 
away  on  the  stream  or  lake  or  in  forest  expanse,  en- 
tertaining, companionable,  and  appreciative,  fair  and 
honorable  in  all,  and  of  most  winning  countenance. 
Strenuous  without  exertion,  he  made  rapid  headway  in 
the  esteem  and  affection  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  I 
have  thought  if  he  could  have  lived  until  now,  he  could 
have  been  unanimously  selected  by  the  Democratic 
leaders  for  their  chief,  as  one  who  though  not  possessing 
the  massive  brain  of  a  Webster,  or  the  magnetic  power 
of  a  Choate,  so  combined  the  adroit  faculties  of  mind 
and  speech  as  to  please  all  men,  and  whose  honorable 
and  skilful  administration  of  State  affairs  as  the  Demo- 
cratic Governor  for  years  over  the  Republican  Com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts  indicated  the  possession  of 
abilities  sufficient  to  have  administered  the  multifarious 


A  Sportsman  lor 

duties  of  a  national  executive  had  he  been  called  to 
that  high  and  thankless  position.  He  died  young,  and 
will  ever  be  remembered  by  those  who  knew  him  well. 
I  have  from  him  a  silver  tankard  inscribed  by  him, 
an  unnecessary  souvenir  of  his  memory. 


PROM  1853  to  i860,  residing  in  Boston,  I  made  sev- 
^  eral  trips  out  to  California,  by  either  the  Panama 
route  or  the  Nicaragua,  which  were  the  most  rapid  meth- 
ods then  in  vogue,  requiring  from  twenty-five  to  twenty- 
eight  days.  The  wooden  side-wheel  steamers  then  in 
use  were  not  to  be  compared  with  the  present  steel- 
clad  propellers;  there  were  many  mishaps  occurring, 
and,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  prominent  steamship 
line  engaged  in  the  California  transportation  lost  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  steamers  in  the  business  before  the 
building  of  the  great  continental  railway.  On  one 
trip  we  were  struck  by  lightning  in  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  losing  our  mizzenmast  and  springing  a  bad  leak, 
getting  into  Panama  in  a  somewhat  demoralized  con- 
dition. Another  time  we  broke  our  main  shaft  and 
had  to  roll  about  in  a  high  sea,  until  we  were  picked  up 
by  another  steamer  and  towed  into  port.  Another 
time,  with  our  steamer  loaded  to  its  full  capacity 
with  some  fourteen  hundred  passengers,  we  struck  a 
bad  leak,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  which  gained  steadily 
beyond  the  capacity  of  the  pumps  to  relieve,  and 
barely  reached  San  Francisco  in  time  to  save  the 
steamer  from  sinking. 

One  time  I  went  out  on  old  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt's  opposition  line  to  Greytown,  where  we  had  to 
go  up  the  Rio  del  Norte  on  small  steamers  to  Lake 
Nicaragua,  and,  crossing  that,  take  donkeys  over  the 


•102  Reminiscences  of 

land  to  the  Pacific.  This  was  one  of  the  early  trips  on 
his  route,  and  we  suffered  great  inconveniences.  The 
river  was  low  and  the  little  steamers  got  aground  fre- 
quently, when  we  had  to  tumble  out  on  shore,  to  ease 
the  boats  off.  At  the  lake  we  had  to  remain  several 
days,  for  notice  of  the  arrival  of  the  Pacific  steamer 
to  take  us  on  to  San  Francisco.  There  was  a  delay 
about  this,  and  as  the  accommodations  at  the  Pacific 
Coast,  fourteen  miles  from  the  lake,  were  limited,  the 
twelve  hundred  passengers  were  held  at  the  lake, 
and  the  provisions  there  were  not  calculated  sufficient 
for  more  than  a  day  or  two,  and  the  native  cooks 
were  a  bad  lot,  and  the  region  was  scoured  about  for 
chickens,  pigs,  and  beef,  with  an  insuflficient  supply, 
and  if  it  had  not  been  for  bananas,  we  would  have  suf- 
fered much  more  than  we  did.  The  soups  and  meats 
had  body  enough  on  the  start,  but  the  soups  grad- 
ually thinned  down  so  that  it  became  a  mystery  how 
they  held  out.  I  solved  it  to  my  mind  and  absten- 
tion, by  passing  the  cooking  department,  where  I  saw 
all  the  soup  plates  emptied  of  the  refuse  bones  into  the 
kettles,  to  which  were  added  hot  water  and  seasoning, 
and  the  mixtures  were  served  over  ad  infinitum  at  a  dol- 
lar a  plate.  It  was  a  regular  treadmill  business,  and  sus- 
ceptible of  much  extension.  It  was  undoubtedly  good 
banting  food,  but  satisfied  me  to  be  content  with  the 
nutritive  qualities  of  the  banana. 

In  Boston  at  this  period  I  was  very  fond  of  sail- 
ing in  the  harbor,  and  when  I  found  that  a  good  breeze 
was  blowing  I  would  go  down  to  Long  Wharf  and  hire  a 
moderate-sized  sailboat,  of  sloop  rig,  and  put  out  be- 
yond the  shipping  in  the  open,  and  if  the  breeze  was 
of  good  strength,  it  was  a  great  pleasure  if  it  freshened 


A  Sportsman  103 

up  so  I  could  run  my  boat  on  its  side  with  a  baling-out 
bucket  to  throw  out  the  surplus  water  I  took  in.  Occa- 
sionally I  would  come  near  being  blown  out  to  sea  from 
the  harbor  mouth,  and  on  one  occasion  had  to  wreck  my 
boat  as  night  approached  on  the  last  point  of  land  to 
save  going  down,  as  the  chopping  sea  water-logged  my 
boat,  which  with  its  several  thousand  pounds  of  pig- 
iron  ballast  would  have  soon  gone  under.  Going 
down  one  day  to  the  wharf  I  saw  an  auction  sale  going 
on  of  a  fine  trim  sloop  yacht  of  between  thirty  and 
forty  tons  capacity.  Few  were  present  and  no  bids 
came  in,  and  at  a  venture  I  bid  three  hundred  dollars, 
little  expecting  to  buy  so  fine  a  yacht  at  that  price, 
but  as  it  was  a  peremptory  sale,  and  no  other  bids  came 
in,  I  became  the  owner,  and  upon  looking  it  over 
thought  I  had  reason  to  be  well  satisfied,  as  it  was  not 
far  from  new,  and  was  completely  equipped  with  sail 
and  jib,  anchor  and  ropes,  and  a  good  cooking  stove 
forward,  and  a  fairly  good  cabin  with  four  bunks,  and 
dining-table  with  adjunctive  furnishings.  It  was  the 
Charlotte  Cushman,  and  had  a  set  of  colors  given  by 
that  distinguished  artiste.  It  seemed  quite  unlike  a 
white  elephant,  and  I  communicated  an  account  of 
my  purchase  to  my  two  friends.  Poor  and  Lane,  clerks 
in  the  wholesale  establishment  of  James  Read  &  Co., 
and  invited  them  to  join  me  in  the  venture,  which  they 
did.  As  they  were  not  overburdened  with  funds,  nor 
I  inclined  to  the  possible  lavish  expenditure  which 
might  be  entailed  by  the  luxury-  of  a  yacht,  it  was  agreed 
that  we  should  pursue  an  economical  course,  as  fol- 
lows: To  hire  a  good  skipper  and  allow  him  let  our 
boat  for  pleasure  and  fishing  parties,  using  it  when 
convenient  for  our  own  pleasure.     This  we  did,  getting 


I04  Reminiscences  of 

a  very  good  sort  of  a  fellow  for  skipper,  giving  him 
moderate  pay,  and  allowing  him  to  participate  in  a 
portion  of  the  rentals.  We  ran  the  boat  for  three 
years,  when  we  sold  it  for  about  four  times  what  we 
paid  for  it,  and  although  we  added  several  hundred 
dollars  in  additions  and  repairs,  we  had  the  advantage 
of  the  letting,  and  came  out  well  paid  in  profits,  be- 
sides the  pleasure  and  recreation  we  had.  My  friend 
Poor,  who  was  very  fond  of  yachting,  came  very  near 
losing  his  life  on  a  yachting  excursion  a  few  years 
afterwards  when  sailing  in  Long  Island  Sound.  He 
was  reading  in  the  yacht  cabin  when  a  violent  squall 
came  on,  which  nearly  capsized  the  boat.  As  he 
rushed  out  of  the  cabin  the  boat  inclined  over  on  its 
side  from  the  squall;  he  pitched  headlong  into  the 
sea,  while  the  yacht  passed  on  at  a  rapid  rate,  his 
mishap  being  scarcely  noticed  in  the  confusion 
aboard,  and  was  soon  left  behind.  He  could  not  swim 
a  stroke,  but  retained  his  presence  of  mind  enough  to 
keep  paddling  with  his  hands  by  which  he  kept  his 
body  afloat,  and  was  finally  rescued,  having  been  seen 
by  the  captain  of  a  Sound  steamer,  who  had  observed, 
though  from  a  distance,  the  striking  of  the  yacht  by 
the  sqviall  and  thought  he  observed  some  one  go  over- 
board, and  using  his  spy-glass  saw  Poor  in  the  water. 
He  diverted  his  steamer  from  its  course,  and  as  he  came 
near,  sent  out  a  boat  and  picked  him  up.  He  was 
then  about  insensible,  but  still  keeping  up  his  hand 
paddling.  From  this  he  afterwards  entirely  recovered, 
and  died  but  recently  while  President  of  the  Park  Na- 
tional Bank  of  New  York,  the  second  largest  capital- 
ized bank  in  that  city. 

With  my  friends,  Ned  Poor  and  Lane,  we  organized 


A  Sportsman  105 

during  the  yachting  period  a  literary  society,  which 
we  called  the  Webster  Debating  Club,  limited  in  mem- 
bership to  fifty,  of  which  I  was  President,  Poor, 
Vice-President,  and  Lane,  Secretary.  After  four  years 
of  the  club's  existence,  our  attention  being  elsewhere 
attracted,  the  club  was  merged  in  with  another 
association  of  like  character.  We  had  a  good  deal 
of  interest  and  comfort  in  this  club,  of  which  we  had 
weekly  meetings,  and  conducted  a  literary  maga- 
zine, from  which  the  offerings  of  our  members  were 
read,  and  we  discussed  the  important  questions  of 
the  day  with  much  freedom,  if  not  ability.  We  started 
in  quite  a  humble  way,  but  having  the  indomitable 
assurance  of  Lane  to  head  committees  of  solicitation, 
we  grew  comparatively  opulent,  and  soon  had  a  per- 
manent hall  engaged  and  furnished. 

I  look  back  with  amusement  now  with  the  remem- 
brance of  Lane's  boldness  and  undiminished  energy  in 
striking  for  donations,  when  rebioffs  to  him  were  but 
incentives  for  renewed  exertions.  We  created  a  long 
list  of  honorary  members — who  never  graced  our  meet- 
ings by  their  attendance — which  included  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  Senators,  and  local  celebrities, 
who  were  duly  notified  of  the  distinguished  honor  of 
our  attention,  and  who  almost  always  responded  with 
appropriate  letters  of  acceptance,  and  who  became  ob- 
jects of  attention  without  delay  from  our  soliciting 
committee,  and  who  often  responded  with  Congres- 
sional documents  and  publications,  which  although  not 
especially  adapted  for  a  library  of  reference,  made  an 
important  array  in  our  hall.  I  called  with  Poor  and 
Lane  on  Charles  Sumner,  Edward  Everett,  and  Gover- 
nor Banks,  and  listened  to  the  alluring  invitations  of 


io6  Reminiscences  of 

Lane  on  the  opportunity  offered  of  having  their  works 
illustrated  upon  the  shelves  of  the  club.  To  this  they 
all  responded,  but  when  it  came  to  the  straight  asking 
of  money  donations  I  felt  a  diffidence  I  could  not  over- 
come, but  Lane  felt  no  false  sentiment  in  this  respect, 
and  the  twenty -five  and  fifty  dollar  donations  he  raked 
in  became  rather  alarming  when  we  had  secured  enough 
to  defray  all  possible  expenses  for  a  twelvemonth  ahead, 
and  we  had  to  call  him  off,  in  fear  our  abilities  would 
not  be  sufficient  to  sustain  the  expectations  which  had 
been  created. 

With  our  hall  furnished,  we  branched  off  with  a 
course  of  lectures,  dead-heading  a  semi-distinguished 
embryotic  class  of  orators,  merchants  or  others,  who, 
having  visited  the  Holy  Land,  had  stood  on  the  pyramid 
of  Cheops,  or  had  seen  Vesuvius  in  eruption,  and  whose 
narratives  had  been  of  intense  interest  to  admiring 
friends,  but  who  had  not  yet  been  called  upon  by  the 
acclamation  of  the  public  to  stand  in  prominent  places. 
To  them  we  gave  hearty  welcome,  and  rewarded  them 
with  thanks  and  a  dozen  or  two  of  tickets.  Our  tickets 
were  twenty-five  and  fifty  cents,  depending  upon  the 
location  of  seats ;  if  near,  where  the  expressions  of  the 
lecturer  could  be  clearly  observed,  and  no  words  lost, 
fifty  cents;  if  in  the  rear  where  words  sometimes 
flatten  out  and  possible  draughts  occur,  twenty-five 
cents. 

Numerous  bunches  of  tickets  would  be  disposed  of, 
and  often  to  prominent  parties  whose  presence  would 
add  ^clat  to  the  occasion,  but  whose  appearance  gener- 
ally failed,  owing  to  remarkable  coincidental  absences. 
A  survey  of  the  audience  would  sometimes  indicate 
that  the  lower  classes  were  awakening  to  a  realization 


A  Sportsman  107 

of  their  wants,  and  that  the  cuisine  and  laundry  depart- 
ments were  looking  up. 

We  had  some  rather  clever  young  members  of  our 
club,  many  of  whom  have  gone  before.  Lane,  despite 
his  retiring  disposition,  still  lives  in  the  possession  of 
a  large  fortune.  We  had  in  political  ways  some  oppo- 
sites:  George  H.  Hoyt,  was  a  most  eloquent  young 
speaker,  of  decided  Anti-Slavery  sentiments,  who  upon 
the  trial  of  Ossawatomie  Brown,  who  made  the  foray 
at  Harper's  Ferr\',  ending  in  his  execution,  went  down 
and  appeared  in  his  defence  as  counsel,  and  who  died 
soon  after.  J.  B.  Shepard,  quite  the  opposite  of 
Hoyt  in  political  ways,  became  prominent  in  Tam- 
many afterwards.  Hiram  B.  Banks,  brother  of  Gov- 
ernor Banks,  fell  at  Fair  Oaks  in  the  war,  as  did 
several  of  our  club  members.  Several  are  still  liv- 
ing in  Boston  in  mercantile  life.  Two  or  three  went 
to  the  bad  from  drink,  and  others  I  have  lost  sight  of. 
About  this  time  I  met  Richard  and  Peter  B.  Olney,  the 
former  afterward  Secretary  of  State  under  President 
Cleveland.  I  met  them  for  the  first  time  at  the 
country  residence  of  my  friend  their  uncle,  Peter 
Butler,  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  during  the  Christmas  holidays. 
They  both  were  then  completing  their  collegiate  courses 
in  Rhode  Island,  and  were  about  my  age.  They  were 
strong,  hearty  lads,  and  of  the  two  I  gave  Peter  B. 
the  preference  in  looks  and  manners.  On  the  first  day 
I  met  Richard,  he  was  spending  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  in  scouring  his  somewhat  prominent  teeth  with 
the  bruised  end  of  a  stick  of  liquorice  wood.  He  was 
not  particularly  attractive,  and  his  countenance  was 
disfigured  by  a  large  prominent  scar  across  one  cheek, 
which  gave  him  a  somewhat  severe  aspect,  but  his  cast 


io8  Reminiscences  of 

was  strong,  and  soon  after  entering  the  law  office  of  his 
father-in-law  he  made  rapid  progress,  and  later  on  be- 
came associate  counsel  for  several  important  railroads, 
one  of  which,  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  had  a  pretty 
hard  time  in  its  earlier  days,  being  constructed  through 
a  very  barren  country  from  Albuquerque  in  New 
Mexico  to  Mojave  in  California,  and  a  road  with  which 
I  had  some  familiarity,  and  at  the  time  of  making  its 
annual  report,  I  was  in  some  wonderment  what  kind 
of  a  report  could  be  given  satisfactory  to  the  stock- 
holders. When  the  report  was  made,  I  was  surprised 
at  its  clearness  and  power,  and,  well  aware  of  the  tact- 
fulness  of  Richard,  I  immediately  assumed  that,  as 
I  did  not  know  of  any  officer  of  the  company  whom  I 
thought  capable  of  writing  so  clever  a  report,  he  had 
written  it,  and  called  upon  him  at  his  office  and  men- 
tioned my  conclusion,  which,  in  a  smiling  way,  he 
neither  affimied  or  denied.  As  a  corporation  law^^er 
I  account  him  one  of  the  first,  possessing  a  superior 
knowledge  of  law,  and  a  clear-headed,  drastic  method 
of  expounding  seldom  equalled.  As  a  chief  executive 
of  the  nation  I  should  have  more  fear  of  his  combative 
and  antagonizing  spirit  than  I  would  that  of  which 
animated  the  lamented  President  McKinley  and  Gov- 
ernor William  Russell.  Knowing  him  as  well  as  I  do, 
he  would  be  one  of  the  last  of  whom  I  should  ask  a 
favor,  and  in  saying  this,  I  but  echo  the  expression 
of  a  dear  friend  of  mine,  to  whom  Mr.  Olney  was  in- 
debted for  many  substantial  advantages. 

In  i860  I  engaged  in  a  commercial  business,  which 
I  followed  for  five  years,  but  which  grew  more  engross- 
ing year  by  year,  until  I  found  myself  so  confined  that  I 
had  a  difficulty  at  times  in  arranging  my  visits  to  the 


A  Sportsman  109 

lakes,  although  I  laid  out  my  sporting  excursions  for 
months  ahead,  which  I  never,  despite  many  perplexi- 
ties, failed  to  respond  to. 

This  was  the  period  when  I  denied  myself  the  read- 
ing of  books  and  papers  pertaining  to  sports,  as  too 
inflammatory'  for  my  peace  of  mind,  and  if  in  looking 
over  a  paper  I  saw  the  heading  of  game  killing  or  ad- 
ventures, I  passed  it  by,  waiting  as  patiently  as  I  could 
for  my  times  of  excursions. 

While  engaged  in  business,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Civil  War,  having  belonged  to  a  military  com- 
pany for  several  years,  the  Independent  Corps  of 
Cadets,  I  enlisted  with  several  hundred  men  I  had  se- 
cured, on  the  first  call,  for  three  months'  service,  and 
received  a  captain's  commission,  serving  for  the  period 
mentioned.  It  was  thought  at  the  time  that  the  war 
would  be  of  short  duration,  but  unfortunately  this  ex- 
pectation was  not  realized,  and  the  war  carried  on  for 
several  years  occasioned  the  loss  of  over  a  million  men, 
and  over  three  billions  of  treasure  to  the  government, 
and  probabh'  several  times  the  amount  of  three  billions 
in  the  aggregated  loss  of  expenditures  by  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  in  the  loss  of  slave  ownership  and  the 
destruction  of  property.  That  the  war  was  a  neces- 
sity, except  from  the  heat  of  the  irrepressible  conflict 
brought  on  by  the  Abolitionists  of  the  North  and  the 
fire-eaters  of  the  South,  is  not  quite  clear.  The  fanat- 
ical classes.  North  and  South,  fanning  the  flames  of  dis- 
union, were  at  first  viewed  with  amusement  by  the 
conservative  sentiment  of  the  country,  but  at  last  all 
became  involved  by  the  hasty  acts  of  these  fanatics 
and  demagogues,  creating  a  necessity  for  every  one 
taking  a  warlike  stand  on  one  side  or  the  other.     The 


no  Reminiscences  of 

crisis  came  when  argument  and  reason  were  unavail- 
ing. If  the  AboHtion  leaders  and  the  fire-eaters,  firing 
at  each  other  at  long  range,  could  have  been  confined 
in  some  area,  where  they  could  have  fought  to  the  ex- 
termination of  each  other,  it  would  have  been  a  great 
blessing  to  the  country,  and  the  war  could  have  been 
averted  by  the  action  of  sober  reason  by  making  a 
proper  valuation  of  the  slaves  to  be  paid  for  by  the 
general  government,  thus  removing  the  primal  cause 
of  conflict.  This,  however,  could  not  have  been 
brought  about  at  the  time  of  President  Lincoln's  elec- 
tion, for  neither  the  North  nor  the  South  would  have 
consented  to  it. 


DISPOSING  in  the  early  part  of  1865  of  my  com- 
mercial interests,  and  experiencing  the  exhilara- 
tion of  a  freedom  I  had  long  been  denied,  I  resolved  to 
take  my  way  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  having  read  so 
many  accounts  of  adventurous  life  there  from  the  in- 
teresting sketches  of  the  early  pioneers. 

Before  leaving  for  the  West  I  concluded  to  take  a 
trip  down  to  the  Pennsylvania  oil  regions,  which  at 
that  time  were  creating  much  excitement.  This  I 
fancied  would  be  a  rather  agreeable  excursion,  but 
found  in  it  more  peril  than  the  one  I  soon  afterwards 
made  across  the  great  plains  to  the  mountains.  Before 
the  train  I  was  on  reached  Titusville  two  miles  distant 
it  came  to  a  standstill  from  an  excess  of  water  over  the 
track.  It  had  been  raining  for  several  days,  and  the 
country  was  flooded.  The  train  was  in  a  sheet  of 
water  several  hundred  feet  from  land,  and  as  the  water 
was  growing  deeper — already  so  deep  as  to  almost  put 
out  the  engine's  fire — it  was  deemed  expedient  to  hold 


A  Sportsman  in 

up,  perhaps  for  all  night.  The  train  was  loaded  with 
passengers  to  excess,  so  much  so  that  many  had 
to  stand  between  the  occupied  seats.  It  was  not  a 
pleasant  situation.  Some  countrymen  after  awhile 
made  a  rough  raft  of  fence  timbers  and  boards  and 
poled  out  to  the  train,  offering  to  take  passengers  ashore 
for  a  dollar  apiece.  I  secured  a  place  on  the  raft  with 
all  the  baggage  I  had,  a  pretty  good-sized  hand-bag. 
Too  many  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity 
offered,  and  in  consequence  when  about  fifty  feet  from 
the  land  the  raft  broke  apart,  and  let  us  all  in  the  water. 
Fortunately  it  was  not  very  deep,  but  pretty  nearly  up 
to  one's  shoulders,  so  we  all  waded  to  the  land  with  our 
hand-bags  thoroughly  soaked.  No  teams  of  convey- 
ance being  at  hand  we  all  walked  on  to  Titusville,  con- 
veying our  bags  after  draining  out  what  water  we 
could. 

It  was  dark  when  we  arrived  at  our  destination, 
and  we  found  the  water  running  through  the  streets  up 
to  the  sidewalks  and  in  some  cases  over.  It  being  in 
the  very  height  of  the  excitement,  the  little  town  was 
crowded  with  a  great  many  more  visitors  than  it  could 
accommodate,  and  the  only  hotel  there  could  hardly 
feed  its  guests,  and  no  rooms  or  beds  could  be  obtained. 
The  sitting-room  and  halls  were  occupied  for  sleeping 
places,  without  cots  or  mattresses.  There  was  a  large 
barroom,  crowded  full,  where  the  tobacco  smoke  was 
so  thick  that  it  could  hardly  be  seen  through.  The 
exciting  subject  of  conversation  was  Oil!  Oil!  Oil! 
Great  strikes  and  the  expression  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  were  as  plentiful  as  flies  in  the  dog 
days,  and  one  would  suppose  from  the  somewhat  rough 
crowd  present  that  it  was  composed  of  millionaires  in 


112  Reminiscences  of 

disguise.  There  was  a  large  cylinder  stove  in  one  part 
of  the  barroom,  so  red  hot  that  more  space  existed 
about  it  than  elsewhere,  and  near  this  I  proceeded  to 
the  inner  circle.  Here  I  divested  myself  of  my  outer 
clothing,  and  managed  in  an  hour  or  so  by  revolving 
about  to  pretty  well  dry  my  underwear.  Wringing  out 
the  contents  of  my  bag  and  holding  out  some  of  my 
outer  clothing,  I  managed  before  I  lay  down  on  the 
floor  for  the  night  to  approach  some  degree  of  dryness, 
and  I  passed  the  night  much  more  comfortably  than 
one  would  if  lost  overboard  at  sea. 

At  the  railroad  station  in  Boston,  just  before 
leaving,  I  was  sought  for  and  found  by  an  acquaintance, 
Carlos  Pierce,  who  had  happened  to  hear  that  I  was 
going  to  the  oil  regions,  and  who  asked  me  if  I  would 
visit  a  tract  on  Oil  Creek  below  Titusville,  which  he 
had  an  option  of  purchase  on  for  a  limited  time  for 
some  amount.  I  told  him  it  was  quite  impossible  as  I 
was  going  on  a  pleasure  excursion  and  I  could  not  give 
any  attention  to  business.  He  was  very  persistent  and 
disinclined  to  take  a  refusal,  and  finally  said  as  his 
period  of  option  was  short,  he  would  give  me  five  hun- 
dred dollars  to  take  a  look  at  it,  even  brief,  and  inform 
him  by  telegraph  if  a  new  well  of  value  had  been  reached 
upon  the  tract,  which  had  been  reported  to  him,  but 
which  he  had  some  doubts  about. 

I  finally  yielded  to  my  friend's  solicitations,  though 
reluctantly,  and  the  result  put  me  to  a  great  deal  of 
bother,  for  the  next  day  was  the  one  I  should  have  to 
visit  the  tract  and  the  prospects  of  getting  there  in  the 
morning  appeared  very  dubious  when  I  looked  out  on 
the  booming  Oil  Creek,  and  the  frightfully  muddy  roads. 
Besides,  the  bridge  across  a  creek  close  to  the  town. 


A  Sportsman  1 1 3 

running  into  the  main  road,  had  been  carried  away, 
and  this  creek  had  to  be  crossed  on  the  route  down  Oil 
Creek  to  the  optioned  tract.  The  creek,  I  was  told, 
could  be  forded  a  short  way  above  the  bridge  site.  I 
managed,  over  the  muddy  and  half-flooded  sidewalks, 
to  get  to  a  livery  stable  to  engage  a  saddle-horse  for 
the  trip,  but  was  met  with  a  decided  refusal  from  the 
keeper  to  let  any  horse  out  in  the  present  condition. 
Looking  over  his  saddle-horses,  I  asked  him  if  he  would 
sell  me  a  pretty  sturdy-looking  nag  with  a  saddle  and 
bridle  outfit,  which  he  answered  in  the  affirmative,  the 
price  being  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  I  paid  him 
the  sum,  and  started  out,  leaving  my  bag  with  him 
for  safekeeping  until  my  return.  My  starting  out 
to  ford  the  creek  attracted  a  number  of  dead-head 
spectators  as  the  creek  had  not  been  forded  since  the  loss 
of  the  bridge.  My  horse  took  the  water  in  good  cour- 
age, but  the  water  kept  growing  deeper  until  I  had  to 
hold  my  legs  up  as  high  as  I  could,  and  I  commenced 
to  congratulate  myself  upon  a  comfortable  passage, 
when  my  horse  dumped  in  and  commenced  swimming. 
I  had  some  difficulty  in  keeping  on,  but  had  acquired 
some  experience  in  swimming  horses,  and  succeeded  in 
doing  so  by  hugging  down  on  my  horse's  neck  and  by 
holding  on  to  his  mane.  I  lost  my  seat  before  getting 
over,  but  kept  my  mane  hold,  and  although  the  cur- 
rent was  strong  got  safely  across  with  him.  I  then 
had  fifteen  miles  of  a  frightfully  muddy  road  to  get 
over  to  the  tract  in  view,  where  the  mud  in  its  clayey, 
tenacious  character  was  about  the  worst  I  ever  en- 
countered, and  if  I  had  not  had  a  very  strong  horse  I 
could  never  have  gotten  over  it.  I  arrived  at  the  tract 
about  noon,  and  found  in  reality  that  a  new  powerful 


114  Reminiscences  of 

oil-gusher  had  been  struck,  adding  much  to  the  value. 
I  then  had  to  detour  several  miles  to  Franklin  for  a 
telegraph  office,  and  send  off  a  message  to  Pierce. 

Oil  City,  on  the  Alleghany,  at  the  mouth  of  Oil  Creek, 
was  fifteen  miles  below,  and  although  a  drizzly  rain  was 
falHng — from  which  I  had  become  iinmune — I  pushed  on 
over  the  muddy  roads.  As  I  occasionally  came  in  sight 
of  Oil  Creek,  I  saw  that  it  was  at  a  booming  height,  and 
carr\^ing  along  trees  and  wrecks  of  buildings,  with  an 
occasional  small  house  or  two  and  dead  cattle,  with 
the  water  more  or  less  surfaced  with  petroleum  from 
overflowing  wells  or  damaged  tanks.  At  Oil  City — as 
I  approached  at  sundown — I  saw  the  backwater 
from  the  Alleghany  River  had  spread  over  a  large 
area,  flooding  a  large  part  of  the  town  from  which 
the  inhabitants  had  fled  to  higher  ground  where 
they  were  camping  out,  as  all  the  upper  ground 
houses  and  the  church  and  schoolhouse  were  filled  up. 
It  looked  unfavorable  for  a  night's  lodging.  But  as  I 
passed  along  I  overtook  a  gentleman  with  whom  I  had 
some  conversation,  and  who  kindly  offered  to  give  me 
a  sofa  in  his  sitting-room,  his  house  otherwise  be- 
ing crowded.  This  I  gladl}'  accepted,  and  got  my 
horse  well  put-up  and  fed.  The  wife  of  my  host  gave 
me  a  good  supper  accompanied  with  a  bowl  of  fine 
coffee,  from  which  I  partook  so  heartily  that  I  failed 
to  get  any  sleep  during  the  night,  nor  did  I  feel  par- 
ticularly fatigued.  Having  a  stove  in  the  room  I  occu- 
pied, I  dried  my  clothes  pretty  well  and  passed  the 
night  in  reading  from  the  small  library  my  room 
contained. 

The  following  morning  I  mounted  my  steed,  which 
I  found  comfortably  refreshed,  and  rode  back  to  Titus- 


A  Sportsman  115 

ville,  succeeding  in  getting  across  the  creek  I  crossed 
the  morning  before,  by  going  up  higher,  and  got  over 
without  swimming  my  horse.  I  was  the  first  down  to 
Oil  City  to  carry  news  of  the  conditions  above,  and  the 
first  on  my  return  to  give  news  of  the  conditions  be- 
low. I  succeeded  in  getting  a  bed  that  night  and 
obtained  a  good  rest. 

The  water  had  fallen,  though  still  high,  and  the 
town  was  still  crowded  as  before.  I  concluded  I  had 
seen  enough  of  the  oil  regions  and  would  return  home. 
The  trains  in  and  out  from  Titusville  were  running 
ver>-  irregularly,  and  I  took  the  one  out  in  the  after- 
noon for  the  Junction,  where  a  change  was  to  be  made 
to  another  train,  to  arrive  in  a  short  time,  but  the 
expected  train  did  not  arrive  until  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and 
could  in  no  way  accommodate  the  passengers  waiting; 
but  I  succeeded  in  getting  on  and  in  checking  my  bag 
to  New  York,  which  was  fortunate,  or  I  would  other- 
wise have  lost  it  in  the  wreck  which  followed. 

The  morning  opened  bright  and  clear,  and  after 
breakfast  at  a  stopping-place,  I  crowded  into  the  front 
smoking-car  to  have  a  smoke,  the  car  and  train  being 
as  crowded  as  the  train  I  came  down  in,  with  a  large 
number  of  passengers  standing  in  the  passageways  and 
between  seats.  The  track  was  very  rough,  and  water 
flew  out  occasionally  from  beneath  the  sleepers  as  the 
train  passed  on;  still  the  train  was  pushed  on  with 
great  speed,  so  much  so  that  I  became  much  alarmed, 
and  one  of  the  passengers  remarked  to  the  conductor 
as  he  came  along  that  he  thought  the  speed  was  alto- 
gether too  rapid,  with  the  condition  of  the  road,  to 
which  the  conductor  replied  rather  curtly,  with    an 


ii6  Reminiscences  of 

intimation  that  it  was  his  btisiness.  I  felt  so  much 
alarmed  with  the  rocking  and  swinging  of  the  car  that 
I  thought  it  prudent  to  retire  to  the  rear  end  of  the 
train,  which  I  had  great  difficulty  in  doing  in  pushing 
through  the  crowded  cars,  there  being  eleven  of  them 
from  the  baggage.  The  last  car  was  a  sleeper,  crowded 
full,  of  which  the  door  was  locked  to  keep  out  the  fre- 
quent calls  of  outside  passengers  for  admittance. 
Finally,  by  thumping  vigorously,  I  brought  the  porter 
to  the  door,  who  opened  it  partially,  and  in  answer 
to  my  request  to  be  admitted  declared  that  it  was  ut- 
terly impossible,  as  it  would  hold  no  more.  I  told  him 
it  was  important  to  see  a  friend  of  mine  in  the  car 
without  delay,  at  the  same  time  exhibiting  a  five- 
dollar  bill,  which  I  offered  him  in  case  of  admission. 
It  was  sufficient  for  my  purpose,  and  the  colored 
porter  passed  me  in,  finding  the  car  as  much  over- 
crowded as  the  others. 

Not  more  than  five  minutes  after  m}''  entry,  a  violent 
series  of  shocks  occurred,  as  of  most  severe  breaking 
up,  which  came  from  the  smashing  of  the  cars  ahead, 
and  which  brought  our  car  to  a  standstill,  but  not 
until  the  front  half  had  left  the  track,  being  the  only 
car  of  which  any  part  remained  upon  the  rails.  We 
were  not  prepared  to  witness  the  scene  which  met  our 
sight  upon  going  out  from  our  car.  No  wreck  could 
hardly  be  more  complete.  We  had  been  running  at  a 
speed  which  I  should  estimate  at  fully  forty  miles  an 
hour.  A  broken  rail  over  which  the  engine  and  bag- 
gage car  had  passed  threw  off  the  smoking-car  and  all 
following  to  the  sleeper.  The  car  next  ahead  of  ours 
was  thrown  over  on  its  side  with  its  front  end  smashed 
in.     The  next  three  or  four  cars  were  more  or  less 


A  Sportsman  1 1 7 

smashed  in  and  lying  in  a  deep  ditch  full  of  water  near 
the  track,  bottom  side  up,  with  their  wheels  sticking 
up.  One  of  them  was  so  deep  in  the  water  that  the 
water  was  above  the  windows.  The  other  cars  were 
lying  smashed  up  at  various  angles.  The  injured  pas- 
sengers were  giving  out  groans  and  piteous  cries.  All 
those  who  were  uninjured  gave  immediate  aid,  and  we 
stretched  out  on  the  track  the  dead  and  badly  wounded. 
The  upturned  car  so  deep  in  the  water  could  not  be 
opened  otherwise  than  by  breaking  in  from  the  bottom, 
a  most  difficult  and  prolonged  work  which  was  effected 
by  axes  and  the  broken  rail,  and  in  this  car  a  number 
were  drowned. 

This  was  the  most  terrible  accident  it  was  possible 
to  imagine,  and  the  only  one  in  all  my  experience  I 
ever  witnessed  where  death  occurred  from  a  railroad 
wreck,  and  I  believe  I  have  travelled  by  rail  during 
my  life  a  distance  equal  to  that  of  ten  times  around 
the  world.  In  this  accident  over  a  hundred  persons 
were  killed  or  wounded.  Over  thirty  were  killed  out- 
right. It  was  a  shocking  sight  to  see  the  dead,  dying, 
and  wounded  lying  along  the  track.  It  was  some 
time  before  an  aiding  train  brought  medical  attendance 
and  helping  hands.  The  accident  occurred  the  latter 
part  of  April  near  the  small  town  of  Oriskany.  It  was 
eleven  miles  to  Utica,  and  it  was  so  long  before  a  train 
was  ready  to  convey  the  remaining  passengers  that  I 
walked  the  track  to  that  town ;  there  I  caught  a  train 
for  New  York,  where  I  afterward  obtained  my  travel- 
ling bag.  This  was  the  ending  of  an  intended  pleasure 
trip. 

I  caught  a  bad  cold,  and  when  I  arrived  in  New 
York  I  had  a  fever  and  broke  out  with  some  boils 


ii8  Reminiscences  of 

on  my  neck  and  face,  which  confined  me  to  my  room 
for  between  two  and  three  weeks.  Before  I  fairly  recov- 
ered my  usual  good  health  I  returned  to  Boston  and, 
gathering  in  my  fishing  rods  and  guns,  started  for  the 
distant  West  in  the  month  of  May,  1865.  No  railroad 
was  then  built  reaching  to  the  Missouri  River  from 
Chicago,  excepting  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph,  which 
was  then  badly  broken  up  and  periodically  raided  by 
the  holding-out  rebels  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  I 
therefore  took  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad 
from  Chicago,  which  was  not  then  extended  nearer 
than  seventy  miles  to  the  river,  staging  the  balance  of 
the  way  to  Atchison,  and  from  there  by  the  Ben  HoUi- 
day  line  of  stages  to  Denver  across  the  unsettled  great 
plains.  These  stages  left  daily,  consuming  from  six  to 
seven  days  en  route,  travelling  day  and  night  over  a 
region  where  then  existed  a  condition  of  warfare  with 
the  numerous  tribes  of  Indians,  banded  together  in 
united  hostilities  against  the  whites.  At  this  time 
some  ten  thousand  soldiers  were  required  to  keep  the 
route  open.  The  troops  employed  were  largely  com- 
posed of  Confederate  soldiers  taken  prisoners  during 
the  war,  and  were  designated  as  Galvanized  Yankees, 
and  were  so  employed  in  the  scarcity  of  government 
soldiers,  who  were  required  at  the  front  in  the  great 
struggle  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

It  was  necessary  to  have  each  stage  across  the 
plains  accompanied  by  an  escort  of  mounted  soldiers, 
and  even  though  so  protected  stages  were  often  at- 
tacked and  driven  into  the  stations  existing  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty  miles  apart  over  the  way.  All  the 
male  passengers  by  the  stages  carried  guns  for  defence, 
and  constituted  in  themselves  a  strong  force.     In  case 


A  Sportsman  119 

of  attack  it  was  the  habit  of  passengers  to  take  the 
rear  of  the  stage,  where  a  better  resistance  could  be 
given  than  when  cooped  up  inside.  On  this  trip  no 
attack  was  made,  though  we  had  some  false  alarms  and 
fancied  we  saw  Indians  occasionally  in  the  distance. 

One  morning  at  an  early  hour  we  saw  a  man  a  long 
distance  off,  running  toward  us  and  waving  his  arm  in 
signal.  A  pocket-glass  showed  him  to  be  a  white  man, 
evidently  about  stripped  of  clothing.  We  held  up  for 
him,  and  when  he  was  able  to  gain  his  voice  after  re- 
viving from  his  exhausted  condition,  we  found  him  to 
be  the  sole  surv'^ivor  of  an  Indian  raid.  The  Indians  had 
captured  a  ranch  house  some  miles  off  on  a  creek, 
where  a  family  of  eight,  which  included  four  men,  had 
all  been  killed  but  himself.  He,  being  taken  un- 
wounded  a  prisoner,  was  probably  reser\^ed  for  torture. 
He  had  been  almost  stripped  of  his  clothing,  and  had 
a  finger  chopped  off,  to  secure  a  plain  gold  ring  he 
wore,  which  was  difficult  to  remove.  He  could,  he 
said,  have  worked  it  off  in  a  little  while,  but  the  im- 
patient savages  upon  discovering  it  had  a  competition 
for  its  possession,  and  it  was  settled  abruptly  by  one  of 
their  number  cleverer  than  the  rest,  who  lopped  off  the 
offending  member,  and  from  ignorance  of  anatomical 
operations  very  nearly  severed  two  others.  The  pris- 
oner had  been  tied  up  for  two  nights,  held  in  reserve 
for  an  hour  of  recreation,  when  the  gentle  savages 
would  have  the  leisure  to  fully  enjoy  the  pleasure  of 
his  sufferings  at  the  stake,  which  he  had  reasons  from 
significant  signs  to  believe  would  occur  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  He  had  the  night  preceding  his  reaching  us 
managed  to  get  loose  from  his  thongs  and  steal  off. 
He  travelled  about  in  the  dark,  getting  some  miles 


I20  Reminiscences  of 

away  from  the  Indian  camp,  and  at  daylight,  seeing 
no  traces  of  his  enemies,  made  haste  in  the  direction 
of  the  Overland  road,  knowing  from  the  rising  sun  the 
general  direction  toward  it,  resulting  in  his  secured 
escape.  His  naked  feet  were  bleeding  from  the  prickly 
pear  plants  he  had  travelled  over,  and  altogether  he 
was  a  sorry-looking  object.  We  left  him  at  the  next 
station. 

Although  somewhat  weak  in  the  first  days  out  in 
staging  I  pulled  up  pretty  well  before  the  arrival  at 
Denver,  after  the  six  hundred  miles  of  passage.  Den- 
ver was  then  a  somewhat  dilapidated  town  of  a  few 
thousand  people,  and  as  we  drew  in  at  the  Planters 
Hotel — a  rather  unpromising  wooden  building — we  had 
a  delegation  of  citizens  there  to  inspect  the  new  arri- 
vals, as  one  of  the  prominent  events  of  the  day.  It 
was  at  Denver,  in  the  small  stream  running  through 
the  town,  that  gold  was  first  discovered  a  few  years 
before,  and  which  led  on  to  the  finding  of  the  mineral 
veins  in  the  mountains  above.  The  population  of  the 
Territory  at  the  time  was  estimated  at  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  thousand,  of  which  a  large  proportion 
was  scattered  about  in  the  mining  districts. 

Our  arrival  was  heralded  in  the  following  morning 
paper,  and  I  was  amused  at  finding  myself  designated 
as  a  prominent  professor  of  inineralogy  sent  out  from 
the  East  by  important  financial  interests  to  invest  in 
the  unrivalled  mineral  wealth  of  the  region.  This 
beset  me  with  numerous  calls  during  the  few  days  I 
remained  in  town  from  embryotic  millionaires,  who 
carefully  unfolded  packages  of  mineral  ores  for  my  in- 
spection, with  intimations  that  I  could  glut  myself  with 
boundless  deposits  of  golden  ores  in  the  mountains 


A  Sportsman  121 

without  even  going  up  there  for  examinations.  To  the 
first  caller  I  gave  assurances  that  my  knowledge  of 
mineral  ores  was  exceedingly  limited  and  that  I  was 
not  even  a  professor.  I  overheard  my  querist  after- 
ward reciting  to  a  small  audience  that  I  was  a  humbug 
and  did  n't  even  know  a  good  ore  when  I  saw  it.  This 
led  me  to  exercise  more  caution,  and  securing  a  small 
magnifying-glass  and  a  pocket  mineral-scraping  knife, 
I  was  better  prepared  for  the  next  visitor,  who  un- 
folded a  precious  specimen  from  the  celebrated  Killbug 
mine.  I  put  on  the  full  power  of  my  glass  in  critical 
examination,  remarking: 

"How  much  have  you  got  of  this?"  to  which  he 
might  rejoin,  "Seven  hundred  feet  and  Brother  Tom 
has  four  hundred  feet  more." 

Then  giving  the  specimen  a  scrape  with  my  mineral 
knife  and  another  glass  examination,  I  would  say, 
"Better  hold  on  to  it,"  which  I  felt  quite  sure  he  would. 
I  then  began  to  retrieve  my  sinking  reputation. 

In  a  few  days  I  took  stage  for  the  Central  City  min- 
ing district,  forty  rmles  up  in  the  mountains,  situated 
on  a  creek  between  hills.  Colorado  was  then  in  a 
very  languishing  condition.  The  decomposed  surface- 
ground  over  mineral  veins  having  more  or  less  free  gold 
had  been  worked  over,  as  well  as  favorable  gulches; 
and  the  stubborn  sulphurets,  though  gaudy  and  attrac- 
tive to  sight  and  containing  more  or  less  gold,  could 
not  be  successfully  worked,  owing  to  the  association 
with  sulphur,  zinc,  iron,  and  various  other  minerals. 


'X'HE  discovery  by  some  emigrants,  in  1858,  of  gold 
*      upon  the  shore  of  Cherry  Creek,   in  the  present 


122  Reminiscences  of 

city  of  Denver,  twelve  miles  from  the  mountains,  first 
drew  attention  toward  Colorado  as  a  mining  region. 
At  that  time  there  were  no  white  residents  in  the  Terri- 
tory, excepting  a  colony  of  Mexicans,  who  were  located 
in  San  Luis  Park,  in  the  extreme  southern  part,  en- 
gaged in  sheep  raising,  ctiltivating  the  soil  to  a  limited 
extent,  and  depending  upon  the  trading  settlement  of 
Santa  F^  South  for  their  supplies.  With  this  excep- 
tion the  whole  region  was  wild  and  unbroken,  inhab- 
ited in  sections  by  tribes  of  Indians  living  in  a  primitive 
state,  who,  drawing  from  the  soil  a  very  scanty  propor- 
tion of  the  food  required  by  them,  depended  almost 
entirel}^  upon  the  wild  animals  abounding  in  the  region. 
These  tribes  were  constantly  in  strife  with  each  other 
and  by  their  hostile  manners  prevented  peaceful  settle- 
ments in  the  region,  claiming  it  as  their  hereditary 
hunting-ground . 

The  discovery  of  gold,  however,  stimulated  an  emi- 
gration of  hardy  pioneers  from  the  eastern  section  of 
Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Missouri,  who,  going  in  bodies, 
were  sufficiently  strong  to  defend  themselves  from  any 
attacks  which  the  Indians  could  make.  These  emi- 
grants followed  up  the  different  tributaries  of  the 
Platte  into  the  mountains,  where  they  discovered  a 
large  number  of  rich  mineral  veins. 

During  the  years  of  i860,  1861,  and  1862  there  was 
a  continuous  stream  of  emigration  to  Colorado,  but 
during  the  years  of  1863,  1864,  and  1865  it  received 
a  material  check;  this  owing  to  a  variety  of  causes, 
some  of  which  we  will  briefly  review.  First,  the  war 
unhappily  existing  in  the  United  States  distracted  pub- 
lic attention  to  a  great  extent  from  the  region;  also 
reports — having   their  foundation   in   reality — of   the 


A  Sportsman  123 

privations  and  sufferings  experienced  by  the  first  set- 
tlers were  widely  circulated  through  the  United  States. 
The  long  passage,  exceeding  six  hundred  miles,  from 
the  last  settlements  of  the  Eastern  States  to  the  moun- 
tains of  Colorado,  over  a  sweeping  plain,  denuded  of 
timber  and  yielding  onl)'  a  precarious  supply  of  food 
to  man,  necessitated  the  taking  of  supplies  sufficient 
for  the  through  passage.  This  passage,  when  taken 
with  mules  or  oxen,  required  from  thirty  to  sixty  days, 
and  was  often  indefinitely  prolonged  by  bad  weather 
or  by  the  loss  of  animals.  In  such  cases — which  were 
not  infrequent — and  in  others  when  the  amount  of 
provisions  taken  was  inadequate  for  the  ordinary 
passage,  much  want  existed,  and  for  a  period  extend- 
ing a  considerable  length  over  the  early  days  of  Colo- 
rado there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  food  in  the  mining 
regions,  and  often  the  worn-out  emigrant  from  the 
plains  arrived  to  find  a  condition  of  affairs  but  little 
better  than  he  had  known  vipon  the  road. 

There  were  also  great  difficulties  met  with  in  work- 
ing the  refractory  minerals  found  when  the  mines  were 
sunk  below  the  surface  ores;  these,  though  vastly 
richer  than  the  decomposed  ore  above  them,  would  not 
yield  the  precious  metal  by  the  simple  and  rude  ]~)ro- 
cess  found  so  profitable  when  applied  to  disintegrated 
or  alluvial  deposits. 

But  the  great  evils  which  discouraged  emigration 
more  than  any  others  were  those  entailed  by  the  In- 
dian wars,  which  raged  during  the  years  1864  and 
1865.  The  different  tribes  of  Indians  upon  the  plains, 
who  saw  the  regions  they  had  so  long  considered  ex- 
clusively their  own  continually  invaded  by  emigrants, 
were  not  slow  to  resent  a  real  or  fancied  injury,  and 


124  Reminiscences  of 

sunk  their  personal  animosities,  their  heritage,  and 
combined  in  a  general  league  against  the  invaders. 
The  opportunity  was  seized  when  the  Civil  War  in  the 
United  States  had  reached  its  greatest  height,  when 
the  government,  requiring  all  its  power,  had  with- 
drawn to  a  great  extent  its  forces  from  the  frontier. 
The  injuries,  aggravated  by  acts  of  retaliation  given 
and  received,  inflamed  the  Indians  to  more  desperate 
acts  of  valor  and  cruelty  than  they  had  ever  exhibited 
before. 

With  scarcely  an  intimation  of  their  purposes,  they 
suddenly  and  simultaneously  attacked  the  route  over 
the  plains.  Sweeping  down  upon  emigrant  teams,  and 
the  small  settlements  which  had  been  established  every 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  upon  the  route,  as  stations  for 
the  mail  and  stage  lines,  they  massacred  the  whites 
indiscriminately — men,  women,  and  children, — often 
scalping  and  mutilating  the  bodies  of  their  victims. 
The  wagons  and  buildings,  after  being  divested  of  all 
that  pleased  the  savage  eye,  were  given  to  the  flames. 
In  one  place,  for  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  the  route  was  made  desolate.  From  other 
places  the  inhabitants  and  emigrants  were  driven  to 
central  spots,  where  for  days  they  were  besieged  by 
their  savage  foes.  The  military  station  at  Julesburg, 
where  a  considerable  number  of  troops  were  congre- 
gated, as  well  as  emigrants,  was  surrounded  for  a  num- 
ber of  days  by  a  large  body  of  Indians  who,  cutting  off 
communication  in  every  direction,  made  desperate 
efforts  to  obtain  possession  of  it,  and  were  only  re- 
pulsed by  the  use  of  canister  and  grape. 

The  number  of  Indians  engaged  in  these  outrages 
was  from  ten  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand,  though  at 


A  Sportsman  125 

the  time  the  number  was  supposed  to  be  larger,  as  the 
tribes  to  which  these  Indians  belonged  comprised  some 
thirty  thousand  warriors.  The  condition  of  affairs  in 
Colorado  during  these  difficulties  was  aggravated  by 
the  expectation  of  attacks  from  other  tribes  than  those 
engaged  upon  the  plains,  who  were  living  in  the  moun- 
tain regions  adjacent;  but,  fortunately,  those  tribes 
maintained  a  peaceful  attitude. 

In  the  meantime  troops  were  sent  from  the  East, 
and  volunteer  companies  were  organized  in  Colorado 
from  the  hardy  miners,  who  scoured  the  plains  in  all 
directions  and  soon  opened  the  route.  But  the  vigi- 
lance and  activity  of  the  savages  prevented  their  being 
punished  to  any  considerable  extent.  In  one  instance, 
however,  a  large  body  of  them  were  surrounded  when 
encamped  near  a  stream,  not  a  long  distance  from 
Denver  City,  when  from  four  hundred  to  five  hundred 
of  the  Indians  were  killed. 

During  this  condition  of  affairs,  although  the  mail 
and  stage  lines  were  open  almost  all  the  time,  and  pas- 
sages of  combined  bodies  of  emigrants  were  regularly 
and  safely  made,  prices  for  the  necessaries  of  life  rose 
to  a  height  previously  unknown  in  the  Territory. 
Com,  oats,  and  other  grains  sold  at  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  cents  per  pound;  potatoes  from  five  to 
fifteen  cents  per  pound ;  flour,  butter,  and  other  articles 
of  food  sold  at  prices  correspondingly  high.  Freight 
across  the  plains  to  the  Territory-  readily  commanded 
an  average  price  of  ten  cents  per  pound,  in  some  in- 
stances reaching  twenty-five  cents  per  pound. 

The  natural  result  in  Colorado  was  an  increase  in 
price  of  labor,  which  could  not  be  obtained  at  less  than 
from  $5  to  Sio  per  day.     During  those  years  mining 


126  Reminiscences  of 

languished,  and  at  least  half  of  the  miners  who  had 
emigrated  to  the  Territory  in  previous  years  left  it  for 
the  new  mining  regions  still  farther  west,  which  had 
their  communications  with  the  States  of  California  and 
Oregon,  upon  the  Pacific  Coast. 

But  despite  the  high  prices  and  Indian  difficulties 
which  prevailed,  a  large  emigration  set  in  during  the 
summer  of  the  year  1865,  which  was  encouraged  by 
the  protection  afforded  by  the  government  in  placing 
ten  thousand  troops  upon  the  route  from  the  Missouri 
River  to  Salt  Lake. 

A  large  number  of  the  emigrants  who  crossed  the 
plains  in  1865  were  en  route  for  regions  beyond;  but 
the  amount  of  freight  received  in  Colorado  during  that 
year  exceeded  that  of  any  previous  one;  and  a  large 
ntimber  of  settlers  were  added  to  the  population  of  the 
Territory.  The  emigration  over  the  plains  during  the 
year  1865  was  immense.  The  government  alone  paid 
a  sum  exceeding  $6,000,000  for  freight  across  the 
country  to  its  various  Western  military  stations.  The 
amount  of  freight  which  was  carried  over  the  plains  in 
1865  is  estimated  to  have  exceeded  one  hundred  and 
fifty  million  pounds. 

From  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  teams  were  em- 
ployed in  the  passage,  some  of  which  made  two  trips 
to  the  mountains  during  the  summer,  the  average 
amount  of  freight  carried  by  the  teams  being  five  thou- 
sand pounds,  each  team  having  four  to  six  horses  or 
mules,  or  from  six  to  twelve  oxen.  The  writer,  while 
returning  east  over  the  plains  by  stage  in  1865  counted 
in  three  daj's  3384  teams  of  this  description,  all  passing 
westward ;  the  distance  made  by  the  stage  during  this 
time  being  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles.     At  one 


A  Sportsman  127 

point  upon  the  route  there  passed  westward,  by  actual 
count,  in  sixty  days,  9494  teams,  having  over  fifty- 
eight  thousand  head  of  horses,  mules,  and  oxen. 

The  emigration  of  1866  was  large  and  steady,  un- 
interrupted by  Indian  raids,  the  savages  having  been 
driven  far  away  from  the  routes.  The  plains,  though 
free  of  timber,  are  well  watered,  and  covered  with  a 
rich  soil,  which  yields  a  heavy-bladed  grass  of  the 
most  nutritious  quality,  and  from  which  the  cattle 
employed  in  freighting  to  Colorado  acquired  a  fatness 
which  well  fitted  them  for  the  market.  This  grass 
grows  in  a  native  state  to  a  considerable  height,  and 
could  be  cut  for  hay  by  thousands  and  millions  of  tons. 

Antelopes  in  large  numbers  were  found  upon  the 
plains,  also  rabbits  of  large  size,  wolves,  ground-squir- 
rels, grouse,  snipe,  curlews,  etc.  Immense  herds  of 
buffalo  roamed  annually  over  the  expanse,  at  times 
so  plentiful  as  to  prevent  for  days  the  passage  of  teams. 
At  some  seasons  they  could  be  seen  by  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands,  strung  out  over  an  area  of  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  in  width.  The  Indians 
slaughtered  them  in  large  numbers;  and,  after  taking 
from  them  favorite  strips  of  meat,  left  their  immense 
bodies,  weighing  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand 
pounds,  to  be  eaten  by  wolves  or  to  decay  upon  the 
ground. 

The  Civil  War,  and  especially  the  Indian  hostilities 
in  the  plains,  had  largely  distracted  attention  from 
the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  and  as  no  process  for 
working  the  refractory  ores  was  known — among  a  class 
principally  composed  of  ruralists — money  had  become 
ver>'  scarce;  in  fact,  the  Territory  was  very  hard  up 
in  a  financial  way,  and  a  good  honest  American  dollar 


128  Reminiscences  of 

(worth  to  make  about  forty  cents)  was  as  large,  meta- 
phorically saying,  as  a  cart-wheel.  Everybody  had 
mines  to  sell,  and  no  buyers,  and  expectant  million- 
aires were  hard  up  for  tobacco  and  stimulants.  I 
hired  one  afterwards  to  ride  a  mule  with  a  load  of  pro- 
visions and  cooking  utensils  to  go  into  the  parks  on  a 
hunting  excursion,  who  modestly  computed  the  value 
of  his  holdings  at  twenty  millions  of  dollars,  and  who 
had  put  up  his  ten-dollar  silver  watch  for  a  small  loan 
to  tide  himself  over,  as  he  told  me. 

The  occupants  of  the  numerous  caravans  of  1863 
and  1864,  which  had  struggled  across  the  plains  so 
manfully  for  the  auriferous  deposits  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  with  the  suggestive  mottoes  on  the  sides  of 
their  ships  of  the  plains  of  "Pike's  Peak  or  Bust,"  had 
found  that  the  accomplishment  of  the  initial  object 
comprised  the  full  sense  of  the  alternative. 

Denver  fell  down  nearly  half  in  its  population  in 
1866  by  the  exodus  out,  as  soon  as  the  plains  were 
practically  cleared  of  the  Indians.  The  different  tribes 
of  the  desert  were  largely  overcome  in  1866  and  1867 
and  placed  under  guard  on  reservations,  and  it  was 
found  much  cheaper  to  feed  and  blanket  them  than  to 
fight  them. 

I  fished  about  the  streams  of  Boulder  and  Clear 
creeks  with  indifferent  success,  owing  largely  to  the 
cloudy  condition  of  the  waters  from  mining  works.  At 
Central  City  I  met  H.  M.  Teller — now  United  States 
Senator  from  Colorado — who  has  been  a  long  time  in 
political  life.  He  was  the  leading  attorney  in  the 
State,  and  I  trust  he  will  take  no  offence  if  I  mention 
that  I  retained  him,  in  view  of  possible  want  of  advice, 
for  the  sum  of  thirty  dollars  for  the  year.     At  the  Gold 


A  Sportsman  129 

Dirt  mining  district  I  met  George  M.  Pullman,  after- 
ward prominent  in  railroad  affairs  and  President  of  the 
company  bearing  his  name. 

I  made  an  excursion  with  a  guide  and  hunter 
named  Utter  for  mountain  goats  in  the  ranges  higher 
up  than  at  Central,  the  altitude  of  the  latter  being 
about  eight  thousand  feet,  and  where  goats  had  been 
seen,  but  without  our  seeing  any,  although  Utter  killed 
a  large  grizzly  bear,  of  which  I  still  have  the  skin  in 
Maine.  Utter  tracked  the  bear  over  a  thin  fall  of  snow 
to  its  den,  and  left  our  camp,  which  was  near,  at  the 
very  earliest  gleam  of  light  and  took  his  place  in  a 
tree  opposite  the  den  and  fatally  shot  the  bear  as  it 
came  out,  in  less  than  an  hour  after  Utter  had  taken 
his  position. 

Colorado  at  that  time  was  as  rough  in  its  social 
elements  as  new  mining  regions  generally  are,  and  had 
a  stronger  color  put  on  in  this  respect  by  the  influx  of 
a  highly  dangerous  class  from  Missouri  and  Kansas, 
composed  of  men  who  belonged  to  the  bushwhacking 
and  guerilla  bands  which  had  been  broken  up  finally 
by  the  close  of  the  war,  and  those  who  were  not  killed 
or  captured  had  to  flee  for  their  lives  and  many  came 
out  to  Colorado,  where  they  were  more  or  less  looked 
after,  and  a  good  many  were  shot  or  strung  up  on  short 
notice  upon  their  capture,  after  committing  robberies 
and  murders.  It  is  surprising  to  note  that  these  des- 
peradoes could  act  as  badly  and  reckless  as  they  did 
in  view  of  the  disgust  they  created  and  the  steady 
decimation  of  their  numbers  which  occvirred  from  the 
indignant  communities  they  infested.  But  they  kept 
coming,  and  some,  separating  from  others,  distributed 
themselves  in  the  various  mining  districts,  where  they 


I30  Reminiscences  of 

were  soon  spotted  and  disposed  of  unless  very  careful 
in  the  various  disguises  they  adopted.  Others  ganged 
together  and  occupied  separate  camps  from  the  miners, 
from  which  they  would  make  forays  as  of  old  in  the 
regions  they  formerly  raided. 

These  desperadoes  were  generally  known  as  the 
double-pistol  brigade,  from  their  accoutrements  and 
from  wearing  two  large  six-shooters  in  their  belts. 
Four  of  them  made  a  raid  one  night  when  I  was  at 
Central  in  an  office  building  belonging  to  the  Bobtail 
Mining  Company  in  town,  which  kept  its  bullion  ac- 
cumulated in  the  office  safe  before  shipment,  which 
building  was  not  occupied  at  night,  but  was  near  other 
occupied  buildings.  These  whackers  had  tampered  with 
one  of  the  miners  employed  by  the  company  through 
whom  they  learned  of  the  safe  deposits,  and  whom  they 
had  gained  over,  they  supposed,  but  who  weakened  and 
divulged  to  the  owners  all  about  it,  and  the  night  and 
hour  when  the  raid  was  to  take  place.  The  whackers 
came,  and  as  they  opened  the  office  building  they  were 
fired  vipon  by  concealed  guards,  and  so  effectually  that 
all  fell,  three  killed  and  the  fourth  mortally  wounded. 
Here  the  bodies  were  allowed  to  lie  on  the  ground,  and 
I,  hearing  of  it,  went  down  in  the  morning  to  see  the 
sight.  The  bodies  were  still  there  in  view  of  the  assem- 
bled spectators,  with  the  wounded  man  still  alive, 
cursing  everything  and  everybody  and  without  medi- 
cal aid,  and  soon  died.  It  was  proposed  to  string  him 
up  in  his  dying  condition,  but  better  counsel  prevailed. 


HAD  two  friends  at  Spanish   Bar,  on  the  Platte 
River, — about  five  miles  from  Central, — Brune  and 


A  Sportsman  131 

Davis,  who  were  both  disciples  of  the  pleasant  sport. 
I  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  and  fishing  with  them 
and  went  down  one  day  to  pass  the  night  with  them, 
Brune  being  a  surveyor  and  Davis  the  local  Recorder 
of  the  mining  district.  They  had  a  little  house  there 
in  which  they  lived,  and  there  were  no  more  than  three 
or  four  houses  then  in  the  settlement.  It  was  a  pleas- 
ant afternoon  and  I  walked  there. 

Spanish  Bar  was  situated  at  a  much  lower  altitude 
than  Central,  and  leading  down  to  the  Bar  was  a  long, 
steep  ravine,  called  Virginia  Caiion,  which  had  a  wagon 
road  down  it.  Three  quarters  of  the  way  down  was  a 
deserted  log  cabin  and  a  turn  in  the  ravine.  I  met  no 
one  until  I  reached  the  cabin,  and  here  I  met  a  very 
rough  man,  hatless,  whose  countenance  indicated  the 
free  use  of  ardent  spirits  and  whose  eyes  were  red  from 
recent  libations.  He  wore  a  thin  linen  coat,  and  as 
the  breeze  down  the  ravine  blew  it  open  I  saw  that  he 
was  doubly  armed  with  a  brace  of  big  six-shooters.  I 
had  met  one  of  the  double-pistol  brigade,  and  it  was 
not  very  pleasant,  considering  the  place.  I  passed  the 
word  of  day  with  him  and  kept  on,  declined  the  appar- 
ent disposition  he  seemed  to  evince  for  a  parley.  I 
was  suspicious,  and  as  I  kept  on  I  slightly  turned  my 
head  so  as  to  keep  him  in  view,  and  I  saw  that  he  had 
stopped  and  was  regarding  me,  and  he  called  out,  ask- 
ing if  I  had  met  any  one  before  him  as  I  came  down, 
to  which  I  answered  "No,"  still  keeping  on,  as  I  ob- 
served his  right  hand  was  on  his  pistol  handle,  where 
mine  went  without  delay,  as  I  was  armed,  and  I  kept 
steadily  on,  still  keeping  him  in  view  and  left  him  stand- 
ing where  he  stopped,  and  the  turn  in  the  road  soon 
left  him  out  of  view.     I  had  not  gone  far — perhaps 


132  Reminiscences  of 

twenty  rods — when  I  heard  a  pistol  shot  ring  out  from 
the  place  I  had  left  him,  but  being  quite  out  of  range 
I  presiimed  that  in  the  half-maudlin  state  he  was  in 
he  perhaps  had  taken  a  stray  shot  at  one  of  the  red 
squirrels,  which  were  plentiful  along  the  ravine. 

When  I  arrived  at  Brune's  I  told  him  of  the  occur- 
rence, and  he  said  the  man  was  one  of  the  bush- 
whackers who  belonged  to  a  gang  which  was  camped 
up  the  stream  a  mile  or  so  above,  and  that  the  chap 
had  passed  the  house  not  long  before  and  had  stopped 
to  ask  for  a  drink,  which  could  not  be  furnished.  We 
had  supper,  and  after  taking  a  quiet  smoke  and  talking 
over  the  inexhaustible  subject  of  fishing,  a  man  en- 
tered with  a  lantern,  being  a  neighbor,  saying  that  he 
had  just  come  down  the  cafion  and  that  there  was  a 
dead  man  lying  in  the  road  not  far  above  the  bend, 
who  had  evidently  been  shot  and  robbed,  judging  from 
the  loose  papers  lying  about  him.  Our  glances  were 
significant,  and  we  saw  that  the  man  following  me  had 
been  shot  and  robbed.  We  got  two  or  three  men  to 
accompany  us  and  all  went  up  there,  and  found  the 
dead  man  lying  on  his  back  as  left  in  the  road,  with 
his  face  upturned  and  as  placid  in  the  full  moonlight 
as  if  sleeping.  Near,  on  the  side  of  the  road,  where  it 
had  been  carelessly  thrown,  was  a  long  breast  pocket- 
book,  which  had  been  stripped  and  from  which  the 
loose  papers  had  been  thrown  out.  We  rigged  up 
some  boards  from  the  floor  of  the  old  cabin,  carried 
him  down  to  the  Bar,  depositing  the  body  in  an 
adjacent  shed,  and  hunted  up  the  Assistant  Sheriff  of 
the  place,  who  declined  to  go  after  the  murderer  that 
night,  but  would  in  the  morning,  and  did,  but  found  no 
trace  of  him,  and  the  matter  was  dropped. 


A  Sportsman  133 

The  murdered  man  had  no  name  or  paper  about 
him  by  which  he  could  be  identified,  and  a  rough  box 
was  made  for  his  interment,  which  took  place  the  fol- 
lowing day.  The  grave  was  not  very  deep  on  the 
side-hill,  and  no  more  than  two  or  three  besides  our 
party  attended  the  burial.  Brune  got  out  his  old 
Episcopal  prayer-book  and  read  the  burial  service. 
As  he  was  reading,  down  the  road  came  a  dozen 
bushwhackers  riding  as  if  in  a  race.  When  they  saw 
us  on  the  hillside  they  abated  the  speed  of  their  horses 
and  came  up  to  us,  inquiring  what  was  going  on,  and 
on  being  informed,  one  of  them  dismounted  and,  giving 
his  horse  in  charge  of  a  companion,  said:  "I  will  make 
a  prayer  for  the  dead  man,"  and,  kneeling  by  the 
grave,  gave  a  frightfully  blasphemous  prayer  for  the 
dead,  remarking  as  he  remounted,  "That  will  save  him 
from  hell."  They  all  then  rode  off  at  a  racing  speed 
and  we  saw  no  more  of  them.  We  remained  silent  dur- 
ing the  interruption,  and  afterward  Brune  proceeded 
with  the  service.  The  grave  was  filled  and  a  pine 
board  was  placed  at  the  head,  which  probably  soon 
disappeared  from  the  action  of  the  elements.  This 
narration,  so  strictly  accurate,  indicates  the  condition 
existing  at  the  time. 

Going  down  to  Denver  to  arrange  for  my  departure 
to  the  Central  Parks,  I  was  surprised  to  meet  there 
two  friends  of  mine  from  Boston,  Daland  and  Twing, 
who  had  arrived  for  the  same  purpose  I  had,  and 
they  readily  agreed  to  accompany  me  on  the  proposed 
excursion.  Supplying  ourselves  with  horses  and  pro- 
visions and  two  assistants — one  a  good  guide  and  hun- 
ter, and  the  other  the  unfledged  millionaire  I  before 
referred  to — we  started  off  in  good  spirits.     In  three 


134  Reminiscences  of 

days'  travelling  we  arrived  at  the  South  Park,  where 
we  established  a  permanent  camp.  We  found  good 
hunting  and  fishing,  but  the  trout  very  very  tame  and 
dull  on  the  line,  though  good  eating.  They  had  neither 
the  beauty  nor  activity  of  the  Eastern  trout,  and  acted 
when  hooked  less  gamy  than  Eastern  chubs.  These 
trout  were  so  tame — and  I  generally  found  them  so  in 
Colorado — that  little  skill  was  required  to  catch  them, 
and  I  have  seen  men  on  horseback  following  a  stream 
and  jerking  out  many  trout  with  poles  and  baited 
hooks.  I  presume  they  are  now  educated  up  to  a 
more  critical  standard. 

All  fishermen  who  have  fished  over  varied  sections 
have  doubtless  observed  how  fish  vary  in  their  bold- 
ness or  shyness.  There  are,  of  course,  the  particular 
fish  who  may  have  been  hooked  several  times,  and 
have  become  very  shy  and  very  difficult  to  catch ;  but 
I  refer  to  the  general  class  of  fish  in  streams  and  ponds 
or  lakes  as  affected  by  frequency  of  fishing.  There  are 
many  shades  and  degrees  of  shyness  between  the  trout 
in  waters  which  have  not  been  fished  and  those  which, 
for  instance,  are  in  the  Thames  and  streams  of  Eng- 
land, where  the  greatest  caution  is  required,  and  where 
the  method  of  drawing  the  fiy  across  the  water,  as 
pursued  in  this  country,  is  of  little  avail,  and  where 
only  the  smallest  kind  of  flies  can  succeed,  and  only 
where  they  are  quite  dry  and  can  float  with  the  current 
down-stream  on  the  surface,  in  imitation  of  the  deli- 
cate ephemera.  Connected  with  the  smallest  thread 
of  gut,  they  must  the  moment  they  are  wet  be  ex- 
changed for  perfectly  dry  ones.  It  surprises  many 
Europeans  to  be  informed  that  our  largest  trout  can 
be  taken  successfully  by  a  large  No.  2  or  No.  3  hook, 


A  Sportsman  135 

with  a  spread  of  an  inch,  and  drawn  through  the  water 
a  foot  or  two  below  the  surface,  and  that  trout  will 
strike  at  such  a  fly  several  times  in  succession  and 
often  when  pricked  by  an  unsuccessful  strike. 

The  trout  of  the  Rangele}'  Lakes  are  particularly 
ganiy,  and  it  is  with  some  hesitancy  that  I  say,  for 
fear  I  may  be  discredited,  that  I  have  several  times 
when  trolling  with  fresh  minnows  caught  trout  which 
I  have  reeled  up  within  twenty  feet  of  the  boat  and 
lost  off,  and  had  them  in  plain  sight  seize  again  the 
mangled  minnow  and  hook  and  be  netted  into  the  boat 
for  their  temerity.  The  salmon  is  very  cautious  in  the 
fresh-water  pools  in  taking  the  fly,  and  if  unsuccessful 
in  its  strike  will  retire  to  its  first  place  and  take  a  rest 
before  rising  again.  In  the  Pacific  Ocean,  when  fol- 
lowing a  trolling  bait  of  fresh  anchovy  or  sardine,  it 
will  exhibit  great  boldness  and  tenacity,  comparatively 
fearless  of  the  boat,  and  will  strike  savagely  at  the 
bait,  and  if  not  hooked  at  the  first  effort,  but  getting 
a  portion  of  it,  will  hook  on  the  remnant  when  often 
but  a  skin  shred  remains,  and  within  ten  or  fifteen  feet 
of  the  boat,  plainly  visible  in  the  clear  water,  and  sev- 
eral following  will  sometimes  be  observed  in  chase. 

In  the  Park  we  found  game  plentiful,  antelope  and 
deer  especially.  One  morning  we  obsen-^ed  a  mile  off 
a  large  bear  feeding  in  the  tall  grass  in  the  open.  The 
wind  was  favorable  for  our  approach,  and  a  projecting 
group  of  timber  on  our  left  reached  out  for  a  good 
station  to  fire  from,  and  although  our  hunting  guide, 
experienced  with  bear,  was  absent  for  supplies,  we 
concluded  to  take  in  the  bear  ourselves  if  possible. 
We  worked  up  through  the  timber,  and  when  we  ar- 
rived at  the  lower  end  of  the  wooded  point  we  found 


136  Reminiscences  of 

the  passage  was  badly  blocked  by  windfalls,  which  we 
had  much  difficulty  in  getting  through,  particularly 
at  the  point  we  wished  to  arrive  at. 

We  had  to  climb  over  lots  of  logs  and  branches 
and  expected  that  the  bear  would  take  alarm,  but 
when  we  came  near  the  end  of  the  point  and  could  look 
out  we  saw  our  bear  still  feeding  undisturbed.  But 
such  a  monster  we  had  never  seen  before,  and  he  looked 
to  be  the  size  of  an  ox.  I  began  to  feel  an  apprehen- 
siveness  I  had  not  before,  and  I  whispered  to  Daland 
and  Twing,  asking  if  they  thought  we  had  better  go 
on  in  our  purpose,  considering  the  surroundings  and 
the  possibility  of  escape  in  case  of  wounding  the  bear 
if  he  should  drive  for  us.  I  made  a  mental  calculation 
in  this  wise:  What  is  the  bear  worth  to  kill ?  Perhaps 
a  hundred  or  two  hvmdred  dollars.  What  is  my  life 
worth  to  me?  More  than  several  millions  of  worlds. 
I  don't  believe  it  is  a  reasonable  proposition  and  I 
decline.  Twing  was  inclined  to  risk  it,  bvit  Daland 
thought  as  I  did.  We  very  cautiously  returned  the 
way  we  came. 

Our  great  bear  hunt  was  over.  Our  hunter  guide, 
when  we  related  our  experience  to  him,  considered  that 
it  would  have  been  very  imprudent  for  us  to  have  shot 
at  the  grizzly,  and  related  the  experience  of  a  hunter 
friend  of  his  who  at  this  time  was  laid  u])  in  the  North 
Park,  whom  they  called  "Old  Kentuck,"  terribly  bit  up 
and  mangled  by  a  grizzly  which  came  upon  him  after 
being  wounded,  and  it  was  a  question  if  he  would 
recover. 

Mr.  De  la  Vergne  afterward  related  to  me  his  ex- 
perience with  a  grizzly  which  he  shot  at  from  a  repeat- 
ing rifle  while  out  prospecting  for  mineral  ores.     The 


A  Sportsman  137 

grizzly  was  not  far  off,  coming  leisurely  toward  him. 
Mr.  De  la  Vergne  crouched  behind  a  large  fallen  log 
and,  taking  deliberate  aim,  fired  at  the  bear's  breast. 
No  sooner  had  he  fired  than  the  bear,  giving  a  savage 
growl,  came  for  him,  though  not  at  full  speed,  as  he 
was  badly  wounded,  and  received  three  more  shots, 
dropping  finally  in  a  death  struggle  within  twenty  feet 
of  Mr.  De  la  Vergne. 

A  man  whom  I  afterwards  employed  named  Saw- 
yer— more  of  a  miner  than  a  hunter, — while  taking  a 
mule  pack  of  provisions  over  the  range  for  me,  was 
suddenly  confronted  by  two  "large  grizzly  bears  on  the 
trail,  whose  sudden  appearance  stampeded  his  mule 
away  from  him,  which  went  off  at  a  galloping  rate  with 
its  load  of  provisions  and  Sawyer's  rifle,  and  the  poor 
fellow  had  barely  time  to  get  up  a  tree  before  the  two 
bears  were  on  the  ground  below.  They  kept  him  up 
the  tree  for  several  hours,  and  he  did  not  recover  his 
mule  until  the  following  day.  The  mule,  when  found, 
had  made  his  way  to  Breckenridge,  the  nearest  settle- 
ment, eleven  miles  from  the  scene  of  the  disturbance. 

Fortunately  the  grizzlies  are  not  good  tree-climbers, 
unless  aided  by  low-down  branches  which  they  may 
seize  and  which  are  sufficiently  strong  to  bear  their 
weight. 


A  FTER  two  weeks'  stay  in  the  Park,  we  crossed 
^  over  the  range  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Rio 
Colorado,  in  the  vicinity  of  some  gulch  miners  on  the 
California  and  Georgia  gulches,  where  they  were  tak- 
ing  out   some    very  good   gold   nuggets  of  fine  gold. 


138  Reminiscences  of 

I  purchased  some  of  the  nuggets,  one  of  which  weighed 
a  pound,  for  which  I  paid  three  hundred  dollars,  and 
altogether  I  bought  nuggets  to  the  value  of  two  thou- 
sand dollars.  It  then  occurred  to  me  that  I  would 
make  a  collection  of  Colorado  ores,  which  I  did,  build- 
ing up  from  the  nuggets  bought,  and  when  I  returned 
to  Central  City  I  employed  several  men  to  follow  up 
the  opened  mines  in  Gilpin  and  several  other  counties, 
until  I  secured  a  large  and  representative  collection 
from  several  hundred  mines,  which  I  afterward  ex- 
hibited at  the  World's  Fair  in  Paris  in  1867. 

I  also  secured  specimens  from  the  few  opened 
mines  then  shown  up  over  the  range,  which  from  assays 
made  at  the  Denver  United  States  Mint  I  found  to 
be  distinctive  from  the  ores  about  Central  City,  and 
more  predominating  in  silver  than  gold,  which  induced 
a  belief  in  my  mind  that  the  over-the-range  mineral 
veins  would  ultimately  make  a  record  in  the  silver 
line,  which  was  not  then  expected.  In  fact  the  gen- 
eral view  existing  at  that  time  was  that  Colorado  was 
wholly  a  gold-producing  region,  and  that  silver  was  an 
incidental  feature  of  no  particular  importance.  I  was 
so  much  impressed  with  the  value  of  the  silver  mines 
from  the  Denver  assays  that  I  wrote  a  small  book  on 
the  subject,  entitled  Silver  Mining  Regions  of  Colorado, 
of  between  one  hundred  and  two  hundred  pages,  of 
which  I  had  five  thousand  copies  published  by  D.  Van 
Nostrand  &  Co.  of  New  York.  This  gave  an  account  of 
the  silver  mines,  with  a  general  history  of  Colorado  and 
its  mining  methods,  and  was  the  first  work  published 
on  Colorado.  This  work,  published  in  1865,  was  se- 
verely criticised  by  the  gold-mining  region  newspapers, 
and  in  some  instances  ridiculed  as  preposterous  and 


A  Sportsman  139 

one  that  could  only  have  been  indited  by  one  of  the 
tenderfoot  order,  ignorant  of  the  real  wealth  of  the 
State. 

The  working  of  the  silver  mines  at  Leadville  a  few 
years  aften\-ard  dispelled  the  gold  monopolizing  theory 
most  effectually,  as  that  region  has  yielded  up  to  the 
present  time  a  good  deal  more  than  a  hundred  millions 
of  the  white  metal. 

As  my  work  published  in  1865  is  out  of  print  I  will 
intrude  some  extracts  in  verification  of  the  prophecy  I 
then  made : 

' '  The  silver  fields  now  discovered  in  Colorado,  upon 
the  western  slope  of  the  range,  but  a  short  distance 
from  the  gold  belt  of  veins,  are  apparently  in  promi- 
nence and  value  beyond  any  known  in  the  world,  and 
the  results  that  will  be  realized  there  within  the  next 
few  years  will  constitute  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
silver  mining.  Were  it  generally  known  to-day  how 
rich  and  inviting  the  silver  fields  of  Colorado  are  we 
should  witness  an  attention  and  investment  there  more 
conspicuous  than  any  exhibited  before  during  the  pres- 
ent age.  An  excitement  of  magnitude  is  inevitable 
and  will  come." 

"The  wealth  of  the  mines  of  Mexico  is  historic. 
We  are  informed  by  Humboldt  in  his  Essai  Politique 
that  'the  yield  of  the  Mexican  mines  since  the  con- 
quest to  1803  had  been  $2,027,952,000,  all  of  which 
was  produced  from  a  few  central  spots,  and  the  mining 
confined  to  a  comparatively  limited  circle.'  The  reg- 
istered coinage  of  the  Mint  of  Mexico,  from  the  years 
1733  to  i860,  shows  $1,741,573,107. 

"The  following  registered  yields  of  a  few  Mexican 
mines  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader : 


I40  Reminiscences  of 

Biscaina  vein $   16,341,600 

Santa  Anita  vein 21,347,210 

Valencia  vein 31,813,486 

Rayas  vein 85,421,014 

Veta  Madre  vein 225,935,736 

"The  Pavellon  vein  when  first  opened  was  said  to 
have  produced  $20,000  per  day  for  five  years,  when  a 
torrent  of  water  from  the  mountains  filled  its  shafts 
and  swept  away  the  improvements.  It  was  opened 
again,  and  for  the  succeeding  ten  years  yielded  S6o,ooo,- 
000.  In  1696  it  was  once  more  abandoned  and  not 
opened  again  until  1787,  when  it  was  vigorously 
worked  for  eight  months.  The  ore  taken  from  it  in 
that  period  yielded  $11,500,000.  The  different  mem- 
bers of  the  noted  Fagoaga  family  are  estimated  to  have 
received  during  fifty  years'  working  of  two  veins  over 
$16,000,000  in  profits. 

"That  the  great  mineral  treasures  of  Mexico  com- 
mence at  the  point  where  Humboldt  rightly  states  the 
labors  of  the  miners  to  have  temiinated,  is  conceded 
by  those  familiar  with  the  country  north  and  south 
and  the  natives  themselves.  We  may  be  surprised 
when  considering  this  fact,  that  such  localities,  known 
to  be  so  much  richer  than  the  interior  sections,  should 
have  been  so  long  neglected. 

"The  extreme  northern  mines  of  Durango  and  Chi- 
huahua have  been  proven  as  vastly  richer  than  those 
of  the  interior.  It  is  upon  the  records  of  Mexico  that 
one  Sefior  Zambrano,  proprietor  of  two  mines  at  San 
Dimas,  Durango,  paid  as  the  king's  fifth  upon  the 
silver  raised  from  the  two  mines,  from  1783  to  1807, 
the  simi  of  $11,000,000.  Nothing  but  the  extreme 
richness  of  the  ore  could  have  paid  the  royalty  of  the 


A  Sportsman  141 

King,  and  the  heavy  duties  entailed  by  the  distance  of 
those  mines  from  the  Capital. 

"The  Carmen  vein,  north  of  Durango,  in  the  State 
of  Chihuahua,  among  the  mines  of  Batopilas,  upon  the 
western  declivity  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  has  produced 
enormous  yields  of  silver.  From  this  vein  three  masses 
of  pure  malleable  silver  were  taken,  weighing  collec- 
tively 870  pounds. 

"The  mines  of  Santa  Eulalia,  in  Chihuahua,  are 
the  most  northern  of  any  mines  in  the  Mexican  States 
which  have  been  worked  with  any  regularity,  and 
proved  by  the  richness  of  their  ores  the  superiority  of 
the  northern  mines  of  Mexico  over  those  of  the  interior 
and  southern  part.  The  registered  yield  of  the  mines 
of  Santa  Eulalia  from  1705  to  1737  was  $55,959,750, 
or  an  average  of  81,748,742  per  annum;  from  1737  to 
1 79 1  the  yield  exceeded  $44,000,000,  making  a  total 
for  eighty-six  years  of  S  100,000,000. 

"This  extreme  northern  district  was  abandoned  in 
the  year  1800  from  its  proximity  to  hostile  Indian 
tribes,  whose  savage  incursions  could  not  be  prevented 
by  the  mining  population,  who  received  no  assistance 
from  the  Mexican  Government,  which  was  engaged 
in  civil  discord;  and  the  flourishing  haciendas  for  re- 
ducing metals,  which  were  once  in  such  a  flourishing 
condition,  are  now  a  mass  of  ruins.  Thus  the  tan- 
talizing wealth  of  the  northern  mines  of  Mexico  and 
the  rich  tracts  of  Arizona  and  Colorado  have  remained 
imdeveloped  until  the  present  day. 

"The  report  of  Mr.  Glennie,  a  very  enterprising 
and  intelligent  English  traveller,  who  made,  in  the 
years  1824  and  1825,  a  number  of  excursions  over 
the  northern  Sierra  Madre  range,  confirms  the  good 


142  Reminiscences  of 

reputation  these  unsettled  tracts  have  had  in  the 
estimation  of  those  famihar  with  the  northern  mines 
of  Mexico. 

"A  single  instance  of  the  result  of  an  exploring  ex- 
pedition by  some  Mexican  buscones  (searchers)  into 
the  regions  of  Arizona  (contiguous  to  Colorado),  in  the 
commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  will  illus- 
trate the  wealth  of  that  region.  Upon  their  return 
they  brought  most  wonderful  accounts  of  richness,  and, 
in  proof,  4033  pounds  of  pure  silver,  one  mass  of  which 
alone  weighed  108  arrobas,  or  2700  pounds,  the  largest 
mass  of  pure  silver  ever  found  in  the  world.  The  fact 
is  well  substantiated  by  record.  The  claims  of  royalty 
to  the  King  being  disputed  by  the  explorers,  led  to 
a  long  and  vexatious  suit  resvdting  in  a  royal  decree 
of  Philip  v.,  dated  Aranjuez,  May  28,  1741,  which  ter- 
minated a  prosecution  by  the  Royal  Fiscal  against  the 
discoverers  of  Arizona,  and  gives  the  weights  of  the 
balls,  sheets,  and  other  pieces  of  silver  discovered 
{tolas,  planchas,  y  ostras  piezas  de  platd). 

"The  decree  ends  by  declaring  Arizona  to  be  royal 
property  as  a  'Criadera  de  Plata'  (a  place  in  which, 
by  some  natural  process,  silver  was  created).  In  con- 
sequence an  end  to  enterprise  in  that  region  occurred 
and  it  has  remained  until  this  day  comparatively  un- 
known and  infested  by  hostile  Indians.  An  attempt 
to  found  a  colony  there  to  work  the  mines  upon  royal 
account  was  made,  which  owing  to  want  of  support 
failed. 

"The  following  extract  from  the  report  to  the 
English  Government  by  H.  G.  Ward,  Charg^  d'Affaires 
to  Mexico  for  a  number  of  years,  may  not  be  uninter- 
esting in  view  of  the  developments  of  the  silver  regions 


A  Sportsman  143 

of  Colorado.  The  report  was  published  in  the  year 
1827  for  the  benefit  of  English  capitalists  who  had 
invested  largely  in  Mexican  mines,  and  was  the  result 
of  a  long  and  critical  examination  of  the  mineral  re- 
sources of  the  country. 

"'The  hitherto  unexplored  regions  in  the  north  of 
Mexico  contain  mineral  resources  which,  as  discoverers 
proceed,  are  likely  to  make  the  future  produce  of  the 
country  infinitely  exceed  the  amount  that  has  been 
hitherto  drawn  from  the  comparatively  poorer  dis- 
tricts of  the  South.'  The  specimens  which  I  have 
seen  of  the  ores  extracted  from  about  36°  north  lati- 
tude almost  induce  one  to  adopt  the  theory  that  the 
proportion  of  silver  contained  in  the  ores  increases  as 
you  advance  north,  a  theory  which  is  generally  be- 
lieved at  present  in  Mexico,  and  which  is  certainly 
confirmed  by  the  superiority  of  all  the  northern  ores 
over  the  richest  districts  in  the  South. 

"The  line  of  Mexico  at  that  time  extended  along 
the  Arkansas  River  to  the  42d  parallel,  which  included 
the  regions  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Colorado ;  the 
line  of  Colorado  commencing  at  31°  and  ending  with 
41°  north." 

These  were  some  of  the  arguments  included  in  my 
published  work  of  1865,  prior  to  the  discovery  of  silver 
in  Colorado.  The  results  of  mining  in  Colorado  and 
Utah  and  regions  beyond  have  fully  verified  the 
prophecies  given  in  1865  as  to  increasing  mineral  val- 
ues as  mining  has  proceeded  northward  from  Mexico. 

Over  the  Range,  Mr.  Tabor,  afterward  Governor 
of  Colorado,  and  briefly  a  United  States  Senator,  was 
engaged  in  keeping  a  small  station,  where  we  pur- 
chased supplies.     We  were  camped  near  a  large  body 


144  Reminiscences  of 

of  Ute  Indians  at  peace  with  the  whites,  who  were  en- 
gaged in  their  usual  life  of  hunting,  and  whose  primi- 
tive methods  of  life  were  interesting  and  amusing. 
They  would  come  over  to  our  place  frequently  in  large 
groups,  especially  women  and  children  and  young 
braves,  and  would  sit  on  the  ground  for  hours  watching 
our  every  movement,  until  it  became  so  annoying  that 
we  removed  our  camp  farther  off.  These  Utes,  with 
the  exception  of  trifling  small  outbreaks,  have  always 
been  at  peace  with  the  people  of  Colorado,  and  are 
now  removed  to  a  distant  reservation.  They  never 
indicated  any  disposition  to  enter  our  camp,  though 
they  would  get  about  as  near  as  they  could  without 
getting  in,  and  the  intense  interest  with  which  they 
would  watch  our  dressing,  washing,  and  cooking  was 
most  amusing,  and  when  one  of  us  shaved  they  would 
pack  the  front  of  oiu"  humble  abode  so  densely  as  to 
make  it  difficult  to  pass  through  them.  Yet  they 
never  molested  any  of  our  articles,  or  opened  our  closed 
camp  dtiring  our  absence,  although  we  did  suspect  that 
they  had  stolen  two  of  our  saddle-horses  belonging  to 
Daland  and  Twing,  two  white  mustangs  designated  as 
General  Grant  and  General  Sherman.  We  informed  the 
chief  of  our  suspicions,  and  he  admitted  that  he  feared 
some  of  his  young  braves  might  have  got  away  with 
them,  which  he  very  much  regretted. 

All  of  our  horses  were  stampeded  one  night,  and  we 
found  in  the  morning  that  they  were  all  gone  from  the 
place  where  they  had  been  picketed,  and  half  a  dozen 
Ute  braves  volunteered  to  join  us  in  search  for  them. 
The  Indians  were  very  efficient  in  trailing,  and  followed 
the  horses  to  a  burnt-over  hillside,  where  the  young 
grass  had  kept  them  at  grazing — all  but  General  Grant 


A  Sportsman  i45 

and  General  Sherman,  who  were  nowhere  to  be  found, 
though  one  of  the  braves  claimed  to  have  discovered 
their  trail,  taking  a  straight  course  for  the  town  of 
Breckenridge,  which  we  had  passed  through  on  our 
route  over.  We  viewed  the  statement  with  some  sus- 
picion, and  were  inclined  to  think  he  knew  more  about 
their  disappearance  than  he  might  be  willing  to  admit. 

A  few  pounds  of  sugar  and  a  dozen  cards  of  com- 
mon matches  amply  rewarded  our  assistants  in  the 
search,  for  sugar  and  especially  matches  were  the  usual 
articles  mostly  prized  by  the  Utes,  and  they  asked  for 
these  articles  more  than  for  anything  else.  A  know- 
ledge of  this  demand  led  us  to  lay  in  a  good  stock  of 
matches,  and  in  a  sudden  burst  of  benevolence  one  of 
us  would  occasionally  at  camp  go  among  the  group  of 
Indian  visitors  and  gravely  distribute  two  or  three 
matches  to  each  one.  These  would  be  received  with 
many  expressive  grunts  of  gratitude,  and  the  precious 
illuminators  would  be  carefully  wrapped  up  in  strips 
of  buckskin  and  stowed  a\Yay- 

It  will  be  related  later  on  how  we  recovered  Gen- 
erals Grant  and  Sherman  afterward,  at  a  distance  of 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  where  we  lost 
them,  showing  that  any  suspicions  we  had  that  the 
Utes  had  stolen  them  were  groundless.  The  Ute  In- 
dians, always  peaceful  with  the  whites,  were  perhaps 
more  so  than  they  otherwise  would  have  been,  but  for 
their  situation  as  mountain  Indians  inhabiting  the 
parks  and  surroundings  in  Colorado.  On  the  plains. 
below  were  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  always  at 
war  with  the  Utes,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  Utes 
were  various  tribes  of  Indians  hostile  to  them.  If 
they  had  war  with  the  Coloradians  they  saw  that  they 


146  Reminiscences  of 

would  be  driven  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies.  They 
could  sustain  themselves  in  their  mountain  regions 
against  other  tribes,  and  though  they  annually  de- 
scended to  the  plains  in  the  buffalo  season,  and  had 
frequent  conflicts  with  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  they 
could  retreat  to  the  foothills  and  hold  them  off. 
They  were  as  superior  in  the  hills,  as  the  Cheyennes 
were  on  the  plains.  Frequent  conflicts  of  this  kind 
were  witnessed  in  the  early  days  by  the  white  settlers, 
and  one  off  the  town  of  Denver  was  witnessed  by  the 
people  there  the  year  I  arrived  in  Colorado. 

In  1879,  when  I  arrived  at  Leadville — ^which  then 
was  the  scene  of  a  most  remarkable  excitement,  arising 
from  the  discovery  of  the  rich  carbonate  silver  ores 
two  years  before — I  was  struck  with  the  resemblance 
of  the  locality  to  that  where  we  found  our  strayed 
horses  fourteen  years  before,  and  upon  mentioning  it 
to  Governor  Tabor,  he  confirmed  my  impression  that 
it  was  the  identical  tract,  as  he  was  a  near  resident  at 
the  time  and  noted  the  incident  of  our  finding  our 
horses  on  the  burnt  tract,  and  this  my  hunter-guide. 
Utter,  whom  I  found  at  Leadville,  also  affirmed.  The 
town  was  crowded  beyond  its  capacity ,  and  many  were 
occupying  tents  and  temporary  shelters ;  not  very  com- 
fortable, the  latter,  as  it  was  midwinter,  and  at  an 
altitude  of  nearly  ten  thousand  feet  above  sea-level. 
Large  sums  were  being  taken  from  the  mines  quite 
near  the  surface,  and  the  struggle  for  wealth  reminded 
me  of  the  old  times  at  Oil  Creek  in  1865.  I  naturally 
thought  of  my  early  visit  there,  when  such  untold 
wealth  lay  beneath  my  feet,  and  when  an  acquired 
title  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  from  the 
government   would   have  had  more  than  a  value  of 


A  Sportsman  i47 

$100,000,000.  But  I  saw  no  evidence  of  the  slumber- 
ing wealth  when  I  was  there,  or  mineral  indications 
enough  from  which  to  obtain  specimens  for  my  collec- 
tion, though  we  did  not  look  very  attentively. 

The  day  after  my  arrival  I  saw  a  small  tract  fif- 
teen hundred  feet  long  and  six  hundred  feet  wide, 
which  has  since  yielded  over  Sio,ooo,ooo  in  silver.  I 
purchased  for  some  friends  of  mine  a  part  of  this  tract 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  width  for  8300,000, 
which  yielded  a  ton  of  silver  per  month  for  over  two 
years.  The  silver  ore  found  and  worked  primarily  at 
Leadville  was  found  in  a  blanket-spread  fonn  over  and 
below  the  surface,  instead  of  going  down  vertically  as 
found  in  fissure  veins,  and  was  combined  with  a  carbon- 
ate of  lead  This  blanket  deposit  was  pretty  well  worked 
out  in  a  few  years,  and  mixed  with  it,  and  below  were 
large  bodies  of  iron  ore,  worthless  for  silver,  but  with 
an  admixture  of  manganese,  making  it  valuable  for 
flux  in  smelting,  and  especially  valuable  in  the  manu- 
facture of  Bessemer  steel,  so  that  the  anomalous  con- 
dition of  many  of  the  silver  mining  companies  was 
exhibited,  after  the  exhaustion  of  their  silver  ores,  as 
existing  by  furnishing  material  for  steel  rails. 

We  made  a  third  removal  of  our  hunting  camp  over 
to  a  beautiful  and  grassy  but  limited  valley  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  Blue  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Rio 
Colorado,  at  the  base  of  a  precipitous  and  rocky  moun- 
tain which  we  named  Fletcher.  This  mountain,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  of  the  continental  range,  towering 
up  fifteen  hundred  feet  from  the  little  valley  we  occu- 
pied, was  very  difficult  to  ascend,  and  rather  dangerous 
on  account  of  loose  rocks  of  mammoth  size,  which 
needed  but  little  encouragement  to  go  crashing  down 


148  Reminiscences  of 

to  the  valley  below;  and  we  amused  ourselves  when 
making  the  ascent  by  prying  over  rocks,  which  dis- 
lodged others,  and  at  times  made  avalanches  of  large 
proportions,  and  when  we  reached  the  sharp,  ridgy 
extending  top  it  became  a  question  which  side  we 
would  create  an  avalanche  upon  from  the  tottering 
rocks  thus  easily  dislodged — if  we  would  give  them 
to  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific  side. 

This  mountain,  so  precipitous  and  having  no  tim- 
ber, being  at  its  base  above  the  altitude  where  it  would 
grow,  had  a  good  many  small  areas  grassed  over,  and 
all  these  spaces  indicated  the  visitations  of  bighorn 
mountain  goats,  which  were  plentiful  compared  with 
other  localities  we  had  visited.  Inhabiting  this 
mountain  through  the  summer  they  would  descend 
habitually  to  the  small  fertile  valleys  below  for  grazing, 
but  at  the  least  alarm  would  break  for  the  heights,  and 
could  be  watched  going  along  the  most  precipitous 
passages  with  a  celerity  that  was  astonishing.  We 
killed  eight  during  our  stay,  and  found  them  fairly  good 
eating,  excepting  one  or  two  old  stagers  which  were 
rather  strong  for  our  taste. 

We  got  nearly  all  of  the  bighorns  on  the  mountain- 
side, by  spotting  and  cautiously  approaching  the  small 
grassy  areas  when  the  wind  was  blowing  strong  from 
the  opposite  direction  of  approach,  and  frequently  the 
odor  arising  from  their  resting-place  would  be  the  first 
intimation  we  would  have  of  their  near  vicinity.  One 
of  the  gulch  miners  at  McNulty,  some  miles  below  us, 
had  a  tame  one,  captured  when  a  kid,  which  was  al- 
lowed to  run  about  without  its  attempting  to  go  away, 
and  was  rather  offensively  tame  in  its  close  hanging  on. 


A  Sportsman  149 

How  these  goats  survive  the  severe  storms  and  snows 
of  winter  I  can  not  understand,  but  they  necessarily- 
must  descend  to  the  milder  regions  of  the  parks.  Still, 
the  mountains  have  many  sheltered  valleys  where  feed 
exists  through  the  winters,  and  I  have  since  noted  at 
Cripple  Creek,  at  nine  thousand  feet  elevation,  that 
domestic  cattle  feed  out  during  most  inclement  winters. 

The  view  from  Fletcher  Mountain  was  of  wondrous 
interest  in  its  panoramic  display  of  mountain  ranges, 
exhibiting  the  small  tributaries  of  the  Rio  Colorado 
and  the  Arkansas  River.  The  many  small  rivulets 
in  commencement  seemed  almost  connecting,  but  sepa- 
rated in  resulting  termination, — originating  together, 
one  system  to  mingle  in  the  briny  waters  of  the  Atlan- 
tic and  the  other  in  those  of  the  Pacific.  We  found 
trout  plentiful  in  all  the  streams  of  the  same  class  as 
found  in  the  parks,  brownish  with  black  spots,  but  no 
carmine  coloring. 

We  noticed  some  peculiarities  arising  from  the  high 
altitude  we  were  at,  when  water  boiled  at  so  low  tem- 
perature as  to  take  from  two  to  two  hours  and  a  half 
to  boil  our  potatoes  soft  enough  for  eating ;  ten  minutes 
to  boil  an  egg  medium  well  done ;  and  beans  one  could 
not  boil  long  enough  all  day  to  crack  the  skins  for 
baking.  Being  scalded  by  boiling  water  was  out  of  the 
question  as  understood  at  low  altitudes. 

We  all  felt  the  difficulty  in  breathing  incidental  to 
the  rarified  atmosphere,  and  in  ascending  an  elevation 
frequent  stops  were  necessary.  We  found,  however, 
some  relief  in  this  respect  after  some  days  of  stay.  Our 
horses  were  affected  the  same  way,  which  necessitated 
much  caution  in  using  them  freely.     It  is  questionable 


150  Reminiscences  of 

if  any  one  bom  and  habited  to  low  altitudes  can  ever 
become  as  efficient  in  physical  ability  in  extreme  high 
elevations  as  if  bom  there. 

In  Ward's  Mexico  it  is  related  that  Englishmen 
there  brought  out  greyhounds  to  course  for  the  hare, 
plentiful  on  the  elevated  mesa  lands  The  greyhounds 
were  found  inefficient,  but  the  offspring  bred  there  were 
found  successful  in  the  chase. 


A  S  elk  did  not  abound  in  our  locality  we  again 
-'^  moved  our  camp  south  about  forty  miles,  to  a 
small  stream  tributary  to  the  Gunnison  River,  which 
in  turn  flowed  into  the  Rio  Colorado.  Here  we  located 
near  the  Divide,  where  we  found  more  game  than  we 
had  yet  seen  in  Colorado, — bear,  both  grizzly  and  cin- 
namon, bighorns,  elk,  and  deer  in  abundance,  and 
mountain  lions.  We  had  but  little  desire  for  bear 
meat,  and  were  quite  satisfied  in  witnessing  the  signs. 
We  killed  several  elk  and  deer,  and  finally  a  moun- 
tain lion,  after  many  miles  of  tramping,  and  having 
about  given  up  the  hunting,  having  no  dogs  suitable  for 
following,  as  our  three  dogs  were  of  a  mongrel  kind  and 
untrained  to  such  sport.  They,  however,  one  day  in 
advance  of  us,  surprised  a  lion  at  the  remnants  of  a 
deer  we  had  killed,  which  almost  immediately  treed, 
instead  of  making  off  as  usual  for  rough  and  difficult 
grounds.  A  single  shot  brought  the  lion  down  mor- 
tally wounded,  but  with  life  enough  left  to  very  badly 
mutilate  one  of  the  dogs  which  too  abruptly  rushed 
upon  him.  He  proved  to  be  a  very  old  one,  and  thin 
in  flesh,  but  with  a  large,  fine  pelt,  which  we  carried 
out  with  us  in  our  collection  of  elk  horns,  bighorns. 


A  Sportsman  151 

and  deer  skins,  which  required  an  extra  pack-mxile  we 
had  to  purchase. 

It  required  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  traveling 
to  get  back  to  Denver  by  way  of  the  South  Park  over 
a  very  rough  country,  until  we  reached  the  plains.  At 
Denver,  where  we  rested  for  two  weeks,  I  met  two 
young  men  from  Boston  whom  I  knew,  Abbott  and 
West,  and  after  exciting  them  with  tales  of  our  adven- 
tures, we  planned  together  another  excursion  to  visit 
the  Middle  Park  over  the  Divide  by  way  of  the  gold 
mines  in  Gilpin  County. 

We  found  Denver  being  diminished  in  its  popula- 
tion from  the  hard  times  existing.  The  known  surface 
diggings  were  becoming  exhausted,  and  no  methods 
were  known  how  to  work  the  stubborn  sulphurets  be- 
neath. In  the  two  years  following  Denver  probably 
lost  one  third  of  its  inhabitants,  who  by  driving 
teams  or  on  horseback,  or  by  one  way  or  another  man- 
aged to  get  away  from  a  region  where  they  saw  no 
means  of  livelihood.  Real  estate  sunk  to  a  low  ebb, 
and  many  owners,  from  either  want  of  funds  or  faith  in 
future  values,  let  their  property  taxes  go  unpaid. 

It  was  not  until  1868  that  the  smelting  process  as 
pursued  at  Swansea  in  Wales  was  introduced,  and 
from  that  period  a  growing  prosperity  occurred,  and 
now  the  State  surpasses  any  in  the  Union  in  its  yield 
of  precious  metals,  with  agricultural  products  of  still 
greater  value. 

It  was  now  midsummer  when  our  party,  increased 
to  five,  returned  to  the  mining  sections,  resting  for  a 
few  days.  Supplying  ourselves  with  pack-mules  and 
two  hunter  guides,  we  essayed  a  route  recommended  to 
us  over  the  Divide  from  Spanish  Bar  by  Trail  Creek, 


152  Reminiscences  of 

which  was  ill-advised,  and  which  we  could  not  make 
owing  to  its  roughness,  with  accumulated  snow  in  the 
passes,  although  it  was  the  first  of  July.  We  had  ex- 
pected an  additional  guide  familiar  with  the  route  who 
had  a  camp  at  the  lower  end  of  Trail  Creek,  but  he  had 
struck  some  rich  surface  pay  ore  on  the  Freeland  Lode 
near  by  that  was  too  attractive  for  him  to  leave,  but 
would  send  up  Dixie  with  us  to  the  end  of  the  creek  near 
the  Divide.  We  supposed  he  meant  some  companion 
of  his,  which  he  did,  though  it  turned  out  to  be  a  long- 
eared  donkey,  which  he  assured  us  would  most  faith- 
fully take  us  through  to  the  Divide  if  we  would  keep 
him  ahead  and  not  let  him  tvun  back,  and  we  inight 
let  him  return  alone  when  we  got  through  with  him. 
This  gave  us  a  good  deal  of  amusement,  besides  creat- 
ing a  suspicion  that  we  might  find  ourselves  on  some 
sort  of  a  wild-goose  hunt  before  we  got  through,  which 
turned  out  to  be  the  case.  We  were  at  the  end  of  the 
settlement,  and  the  expected  man,  Holland,  could  not 
or  would  not  go,  and  we  had  no  resource  but  the  donkey. 
It  was  early  in  the  day  when  we  started  on  over  a 
trail,  which,  distinct  enough  on  the  start,  soon  gave 
out  entirely.  We,  however,  kept  Dixie  on  the  lead 
despite  his  frequent  evinced  determination  to  go  back. 
We  had  the  running  creek  anyhow  for  a  guide,  and  we 
could  not  lose  that,  though  we  had  to  cross  it  a  great 
many  times,  and  had  to  leave  it  often  and  go  around 
hills  which  were  too  precipitous  to  climb,  or  which  met 
at  the  stream  where  no  passage  existed  on  either  side. 
Our  objective  destination  for  the  day  was  Chicago 
Lake,  so  called,  near  the  summit,  which  was  a  pond 
about  half  a  mile  in  width,  and  noted  under  the  roman- 
tic name  it  had,  as  having  been  the  locality  at  which 


A  Sportsman  153 

Bierstadt  had  painted  his  celebrated  picture  called 
The  Heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — a  very  striking 
and  attractive  picture  of  which  there  have  been  many- 
lithographs. 

At  times  in  getting  away  some  distance  from  the 
stream  it  looked  as  if  Dixie  was  leading  us  wrong, 
but  he  brought  us  round  all  right,  except  in  one 
instance,  when  he  struck  up  a  hill  so  steep  that 
we  had  to  dismount  and  hang  on  to  the  tails  of  our 
horses  and  mules  to  keep  up  u'ith  the  procession.  We 
felt  sure  he  was  wrong  this  time,  but  how  to  stop  him 
was  the  question,  as  he  kept  on  ahead,  and  we  were 
too  winded  to  overtake  him.  By  calling  a  rest,  how- 
ever, Dixie  began  to  let  up  and  nibble  at  the  scant  feed, 
and  one  of  our  guides  finally  got  ahead  and  turned  him 
back.  We  had  taken  the  advice  of  Holland,  which 
proved  a  good  precaution,  and  loaded  up  Dixie  with 
a  pack  to  flatter  him  that  he  was  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  belong  to  the  excursion,  which  no  doubt  had  a 
salutary  effect  upon  him. 

It  was  near  dark  when  we  arrived  at  the  lake,  which 
was  the  head  waters  of  Trail  Creek,  beautifully  situated 
in  a  moderately  opened  valley,  surrounded  upon  aU 
sides  but  the  one  of  approach  by  uprising,  precipitous 
ledges  of  rocks.  We  were  near  the  Divide,  and  had 
in  our  ascent  risen  over  three  thousand  feet  from 
Spanish  Bar  in  going  over  a  distance  of  twenty  miles. 
Rising  up  ahead  of  us  was  a  battlement  of  rocks  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  in  height,  bare  of  timber  and  covered 
with  snow.  This  constituted  the  dividing  line  of 
height  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  and  was  the 
pass  we  were  to  go  over.  From  the  pass  on  each  side 
were  rocky  ridges  rising  hundreds  of  feet  still  higher. 


154  Reminiscences  of 

The  snow  extended  down  from  the  summit  to  the 
shores  of  the  lake,  and  as  we  remained  here  for  several 
days  we  celebrated  the  4th  of  July  by  efforts  at  snow- 
balling and  coasting.  The  ice  had  gone  out  of  the 
lake  but  a  few  days  before.  The  last  reaches  of  timber 
ended  at  the  lake  in  small,  scraggly  diminutive  pines, 
though  in  Bierstadt's  picture  large  trees  are  shown,  and 
an  Indian  encampment  with  peaked  and  picturesque 
wigwams. 

We  did  not  arrive  so  late  but  that  I  could  try  the 
fishing,  while  the  rest  of  our  party  prepared  the  rough 
shelter  for  the  night  and  attended  to  other  duties  of 
high  life.  Somewhat  to  my  surprise  I  found  the  trout 
plentiful,  and  soon  had  a  school  around  me  and  secured 
a  score,  all  averaging  about  the  weight  of  half  a  pound. 
They  were  very  listless  on  the  hook,  with  bellies  full 
of  ground  and  surface  feed,  bugs  and  ephemera,  and  I 
was  surprised  that  in  such  condition  they  should  take 
my  bait  of  fresh  meat  so  readily.  Curious  that  trout 
should  ascend  so  high,  showing  the  wondrous  adaptive- 
ness  of  this  fish,  which  has  no  limit  to  its  venture- 
someness  if  the  cardinal  virtues  of  aeration  and  low 
temperature  are  present.  Yet  this  lake  is  hardly  free 
of  ice  for  more  than  three  months  in  the  year. 

Twing,  who  was  a  good  deal  of  an  epicure,  claimed 
that  he  must  cook  these  trout  for  supper  himself,  to 
insure  their  favorable  condition  for  the  satisfaction  of 
a  hunger  which  was  keenly  felt  after  our  laborious 
day's  work.  Daland  and  I  felt  some  misgivings  at 
this  declaration,  as  we  had  experienced  some  of  Twing's 
culinary  efforts  upon  previous  excursions.  However, 
we  let  him  go  on,  but  when  in  our  eager  expectancy 
the  trout  were  brought  on,  the  dish  was  greeted  with 


A  Sportsman  155 

a  cry  of  sorrow  and  disappointment  that  made  Twing 
ver>'  unhappy.  He  had  cut  up  the  trout  in  squares 
like  dice,  and  while  frying  them  in  the  large  camp 
saucepan  over  the  open  fire,  the  fat  had  ignited  and 
before  being  extinguished  gave  a  charcoal  hue  to 
the  squares  which  was  far  from  appetizing  in  appear- 
ance or  taste.  This  led  to  a  raillery  on  the  subject 
which  completed  Twing's  discomfiture  so  much  that 
he  soon  sought  the  retirement  of  his  soft  bed  on  the 
fragmentary'  sticks  which  were  laid  over  the  damp 
ground  for  resting  upon. 

Our  extemporized  camp  for  the  night,  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  material,  was  of  a  sparse  character,  better 
calculated  on  top  for  a  survey  of  the  skies  than  pro- 
tection in  case  of  rain,  but  the  night  was  clear  though 
ver>-  cold,  and  our  supply  of  dry  wood  was  too  limited 
to  last  satisfactorily  through  the  night,  compelling  a 
forage  for  more  toward  morning.  A  little  incident 
occurred  which  still  further  afifected  the  situation. 

Twing,  retiring  earlier  than  the  rest,  commenced  a 
nasal  serenade  of  an  amusing  character,  at  which 
Daland,  a  persistent  joker,  tied  a  few  of  our  emptied  tin 
cans  on  the  end  of  a  stick  and  thrust  them  over  Twing's 
head  from  the  rear  of  the  camp.  Jingling  these  tins 
at  a  merry  rate  soon  aroused  Twing  who,  tired  and 
irritated  at  the  intrusion,  threatened  to  pull  down  the 
whole  camp  if  he  were  disturbed  again  in  the  same 
manner.  In  a  short  time  he  was  off  again  on  the 
musical  tour,  and  Daland  applied  again  the  counter- 
irritant.  Twing  was  as  good  as  his  word  and,  rising 
in  his  might  as  Samson  of  old  at  the  pillars  of  the 
temple,  upheaved  the  supports  and  we  were  campless 
in  a  twinkling.     It  was  little  loss,  however,  and  we 


156  Reminiscences  of 

weathered  out  the  night  with  none  missing  at   the 
breakfast  call. 

We  sent  ofif  the  men  to  look  for  a  pass  to  get  over 
the  Divide,  who  returned  in  a  few  hours  with  the  in- 
formation that  there  was  too  much  snow  to  think  of 
getting  our  animals  over,  as  it  was  soft  and  honey- 
combed beyond  any  possibility  of  safe  passage.  Dur- 
ing the  day  we  tried  the  fishing  with  success.  All  the 
trout  were  as  full  as  they  could  be  with  ground  feed,  and 
and  showed  no  fear  at  our  approach.  We  had  some 
cooked  properly,  but  they  were  not  high  in  the  stan- 
dard of  flavor.  While  Abbott  was  fishing  along  the  lake 
shore  some  distance  from  me,  my  attention  was  at- 
tracted by  his  firing  his  pistol  several  times,  and  while 
watching  him,  saw  that  he  was  wading  out  in  the  water 
and  firing  at  something  on  the  rocky  shore.  I  hastened 
toward  him  and  saw  half  a  dozen  small  animals  on  the 
shore  by  the  water  edge  chattering  at  a  great  rate,  but 
which  scurried  away  among  the  rocks  as  I  came  up, 
and  found  that  he  had  shot  at  and  wounded  one,  which 
set  up  a  cry  of  distress  which  brought  out  a  number, 
whose  threatening  aspect  compelled  him  to  retreat 
into  the  water,  when  he  continued  firing  at  them,  but 
without  killing  an3^  and  was  as  I  came  up  reloading  his 
pistol  with  another  round  of  cartridges.  I  did  not 
see  one  closely  enough  to  particularly  examine,  but  the 
guides  said  they  were  mountain  woodchucks,  with 
which  they  corresponded  in  size  and  general  appearance, 
but  were  not  the  animals  of  that  name  with  which 
we  are  familiar  and  I  noted  they  had  tails  ringed 
somewhat  as  a  raccoon.  We  remained  over  three  nights 
at  the  lake,  but  in  a  more  comfortable  camp  than  our 
first  one.  Dixie,  who  piloted  us  back  to  Spanish  Bar, 
we  kept  tethered. 


A  Sportsman  157 

After  reaching  the  Bar  we  took  up  Fall  River  Creek 
on  our  way  to  Central,  and  met  here  one  of  those  im- 
mense swarms  of  grasshoppers  occasionally  encount- 
ered in  Colorado.  The  air  was  full  of  them,  immense 
full-sized  grasshoppers,  near  the  earth  and  reaching 
up  as  high  as  we  could  see,  so  that  in  looking  up 
they  resembled  a  heavj'  passage  of  snowfiakes.  They 
were  coming  from  an  opposite  direction  and  struck 
us  so  steadily  that  we  had  to  cover  our  faces  with 
our  handkerchiefs.  They  were  drowned  in  immense 
numbers  in  the  waters  of  the  stream,  and  swirled  away 
in  the  currents  by  the  barrelful. 

Amid  this  storm  of  grasshoppers  we  saw  two  white 
horses  up  the  hillside,  and  Daland  declared  they  were 
Generals  Grant  and  Sherman  whom  we  had  lost  when 
we  were  at  the  Ute  Indian  encampment  in  Summit 
County,  and  whom  we  suspected  the  Indians  had  stolen. 
A  closer  examination  revealed  that  they  were  in  real- 
ity the  missing  mustangs,  and  General  Sherman  was 
observed  to  have  around  his  neck  two  feet  of  his 
old  tether  rope.  They  were  fat  and  wild,  but  were 
secured  with  some  labor,  and  their  backs  which  were 
somewhat  bruised  and  sore  when  lost  were  entirely 
healed.  Here  these  two  animals  had  found  their  way 
back  over  the  mountains  and  streams  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Lead- 
ville  to  the  old  grazing  lands  of  Fall  River,  where  they 
had  originally  been  obtained  from,  showing  the  re- 
markable faculty  which  horses  and  some  other  animals 
have  in  finding  their  way  back  to  familiar  localities 
without  compass  or  signs  which  mortals  depend  upon. 
I  could  relate  many  incidents  of  this  character, 
of  which  similar  ones  are  doubtless  known  to  the 
reader. 


158  Reminiscences  of 

We  gave  up  our  expedition  to  the  North  Park  and 
I  shortly  after  returned  to  Boston  across  the  plains 
by  stage,  as  I  came  out.  When  I  left  Boston  for  Col- 
orado, I  had  five  thousand  dollars  in  New  York  drafts 
given  me  by  three  friends,  Oakes  Ames,  of  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  celebrity,  B.  E.  Bates,  President  of  the 
Boston  Bank  of  Commerce,  and  my  friend,  Peter 
Butler,  to  use  in  the  purchase  of  Colorado  mines  at 
my  discretion,  and  I  was  to  have  one  half  the  results 
jointly  with  them.  I  brought  back  those  drafts  to 
them,  and  Mr.  Ames  remarked  that  it  was  the  first 
money,  ventured  upon  an  understanding  of  similar  im- 
port, which  he  ever  had  returned. 


IN  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  (1865)  I  made  an- 
other trip  across  the  plains  to  Colorado  and  back. 
This  time  I  proposed  to  go  through  the  buffalo  country 
by  the  Smoky  River  route,  a  hundred  miles  or  more 
south  of  the  stage  line,  and,  having  two  friends  who 
accompanied  me,  we  bought  at  the  Missouri  River  a 
stout  pair  of  mules,  with  a  wagon  and  saddle-horses, 
calculating  to  join  a  caravan  of  prairie  schooners  for 
protection,  and  to  be  a  month  or  more  on  the  road. 
In  the  wagon  we  carried  bedding,  provisions,  and  neces- 
sary articles.  Our  object  in  taking  this  route  and 
going  in  this  manner  was  to  avail  ourselves  of  buffalo 
and  other  hunting,  of  which  we  had  abundance.  From 
the  Missouri  River  caravans  were  departing  daily,  and 
we  had  no  difficulty  in  connecting  ourselves  with  one. 


A  Sportsman  159 

At  this  period,  although  the  stage  Hne  was  pretty 
well  protected  from  the  attacks  of  Indians,  the  Smoky- 
River  route  was  more  dangerous,  as  the  Indians  were 
more  or  less  about  there  hunting  buffalo  for  their  win- 
ter's supply  of  meat.  This  meat,  cut  in  narrow  strips 
and  sun-dried,  had  good  keeping  quality  for  months 
if  kept  dry.  All  the  teams  as  they  came  along  were 
held  up  by  government  officials,  who  compelled  an 
aggregation  of  at  least  one  hundred  men  with  each 
caravan  before  allowing  a  departure.  Printed  regula- 
tions were  distributed  requiring  an  organization  among 
the  men  of  each  outfit,  giving  rules  of  proceedings  for 
the  election  of  officers  and  general  management;  how 
to  establish  picket  guards  in  dangerous  localities,  and 
how  to  provide  against  attacks.  These  regulations 
were  important  and  generally  observed. 

We  had  not  proceeded  many  days  before  we  came 
into  the  buffalo  range,  and  struck  the  flank  of  an  im- 
mense herd  proceeding  northward,  from  which  several 
were  killed  for  use  of  the  caravan.  The  following  day 
we  were  in  the  midst  of  immense  numbers  stretched 
over  the  plains  in  all  directions.  A  marvellous  sight, 
one  which  would  impress  an  observer  with  the  belief 
that  it  would  hardly  be  possible  to  have  such  numbers 
exterminated  in  the  brief  space  of  a  few  years.  The 
building  of  the  Union  Pacific  and  the  Kansas  Pacific 
railroads  sealed  the  doom  of  the  buffalo.  With  the 
invasion  of  thousands  of  hunters  brought  upon  the 
buffalo  grounds  by  these  railroads,  who  sought  no 
more  than  the  skins  of  the  slain  as  their  reward,  who 
found  the  buffalo  defenceless,  without  shelter  from 
attack,  and  of  too  slow  and  cumbrous  action  to  escape, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  they  soon  disappeared. 


i6o  Reminiscences  of 

The  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  settled 
the  question  of  annual  migration.  It  had  been  the 
habit  for  unknown  centuries  of  the  buffalo  to  annually 
migrate  back  and  forth  over  an  immense  grazing  field 
eighteen  hundred  miles  in  extent,  from  the  fertile 
lands  of  Texas  to  the  inclement  regions  of  British  Co- 
lumbia. Once  their  field  of  grazing  extended  from  the 
Atlantic  Coast  to  the  heights  of  the  Pacific  Sierras, 
covering  more  than  three  quarters  of  the  country,  ex- 
cepting Alaska.  The  extension  of  settlements  from  the 
East  gradually  circumscribed  their  circuit,  but  nothing 
more  sudden  or  deadly  ever  paused  their  feet  or  dis- 
tracted their  sight  than  those  glittering  bands  of  end- 
less steel  across  their  way. 

Even  between  the  great  arms  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri  rivers  they  long  held  sway,  and  seventy  years 
ago,  when  Catlin,  the  Indian  painter,  rested  at  Fort 
Omaha — ^which  George  Francis  Train  some  years  ago 
said  was  the  geographical  centre  of  the  Union  from 
east  to  west,  now  removed  to  San  Francisco  by  the  out- 
stretching Aleutian  Islands, — ^he  said  the  buflfalo  were 
so  plentiful  that  a  band  of  Pawnee  Indians,  invited  by 
the  officers  at  Fort  Omaha,  went  out  and  two  days 
after  brought  in  a  thousand  buff'alo  tongues  for  a 
barrel  of  whisky.  This  whisky,  i.  e.,  alcohol,  was  prob- 
ably seven  eighths  water  from  the  muddy  Missouri, 
adapted  with  hot  compounds  by  the  kind  considera- 
tion of  the  traders  to  the  uncultured  Indian  taste. 
And  yet,  at  one  blow,  the  steel  rail  appearing,  said  to 
the  stupid  and  uncomprehending  buffalo.  Stay,  you 
cannot  go  around,  and  in  a  few  years  you  and  your 
kind  of  countless  numbers,  which  have  so  long  held  the 
country  in  vantage,  from  before  history  began,  shall 


A  Sportsman  i6i 

be  exterminated.  All  but  a  few  which  your  friend  the 
white  man  shall  exhibit  in  the  circus  fields  or  in  wire- 
bound  parks. 

In  the  buffalo  was  exhibited  the  most  stupendous 
feature  of  large  wild  animal  life  ever  shown  upon  the  face 
of  the  globe,  and  in  later  ages  it  will  appear  almost 
incredible  to  the  belief  of  the  reader  of  history  that  a 
condition  could  have  existed  to  have  allowed  so  many 
millions  of  these  huge  animals  to  roam  at  will  over 
the  expanse  of  the  greater  part  of  the  North  American 
continent;  that  in  modem  days  masses  of  buffalo 
containing  from  ten  thousand  to  one  hundred  thou- 
sand could  be  viewed  from  a  single  standpoint;  that 
days  were  consumed  by  travellers  in  patient  waiting 
for  more  than  a  million  of  these  magnificent  animals 
to  pass  away  before  them;  likewise  to  learn  that  in  a 
brief  space  of  a  dozen  years  from  such  a  condition,  a 
practical  extinction  of  these  mammoth  creatures  oc- 
curred. It  is  a  spectacle  of  grand,  marvellous,  and 
pathetic  interest. 

Coincidental  with  the  passing  of  the  buffalo  was 
that  of  the  plains  Indians.  Stretching  from  the  Missis- 
sippi River  to  the  mountainous  backbone  of  the  con- 
tinent in  our  day  were  successive  tribes  of  Indians 
which  have  all  disappeared.  Their  very  existence  was 
woven  in  with  that  of  the  buffalo.  The  real  great  pro- 
tector of  the  Indians  was  the  buffalo,  which  supplied 
food,  raiment,  and  shelter.  And  with  the  passing  of 
these  two  great  elements  of  nature,  what  is  left  to 
show  their  existence?  Nothing  but  a  few  rude  Indian 
hieroglyphics  on  the  face  of  rocks  and  a  few  mud  wal- 
lowing pits  of  the  buffalo.  Even  the  bones  of  the 
buffalo  are  not  in  evidence,  all  gathered  up  in  the  eager 


i62  Reminiscences  of 

race  for  gain  after  the  holocaust  of  destruction  for  the 
carbon  works  of  Kansas,  Nebraska,  and  Missouri. 

A  competent  authority  has  estimated  that  between 
the  years  1868  and  1880,  two  and  a  half  million  dollars 
were  paid  out  in  the  three  States  mentioned  for  buffalo 
bones  gathered  on  the  prairies  at  eight  dollars  per  ton ; 
and  if  the  estimate  of  one  hundred  buffaloes  to  one  ton 
of  bones  has  been  correctly  calculated,  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  bones  of  over  thirty  millions  of  buffalo 
would  be  required  to  furnish  the  amount  purchased. 

In  1870,  the  year  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  was 
completed  from  Kansas  City  to  Denver,  I  took  passage 
from  Denver  to  Kansas  City  over  this  route,  accom- 
panied by  three  friends,  Edward  E.  Poor,  P.  Adams 
Ames,  and  Clarence  Denny.  We  had  been  out  to  Cali- 
fornia, making  a  short  visit  there,  and  were  on  our 
way  back  to  the  East.  We  were  attracted  by  the  re- 
ports we  heard  about  buffalo  being  scattered  along  the 
railroad  route,  which  my  friends  were  anxious  to  see, 
but  little  did  we  reckon  upon  the  delay  and  the  appre- 
hensions we  were  to  experience.  It  was  in  the  early 
part  of  April,  and  the  heavy  storms  of  the  winter  were 
over.  There  had  been,  however,  some  light  flurries  of 
snow  and  hail,  and,  although  the  plains  were  free  and 
clear,  the  cuts  through  which  the  railroad  passed  were 
choked  up  to  some  extent  with  snow  and  sand,  which 
had  to  be  cleared  out,  and  the  forces  at  the  intervening 
stations  were  light  and  inadequate  for  the  work,  so 
that  we  had  constant  delays  over  the  route  and  were 
five  days  in  making  the  passage,  which  on  regular  time 
now  is  made  in  thirty  hours. 

Half-way  across  we  came  into  large  herds  of  buffalo, 
and  in  the  distance  we  saw  Indians  pursuing  and  kill- 


A  Sportsman  163 

ing  them.  The  Sioiux  Indians,  although  they  had  been 
secured  upon  a  northern  reservation  and  were  at  com- 
pelled peace  with  the  whites,  had  been  permitted  by 
the  government  to  come  upon  the  buffalo  grounds  to 
secure  their  customary  and  usual  supplies  of  dried 
meat  for  the  coming  winter. 

Only  a  year  before  the  Sioux,  with  the  Chey- 
ennes,  the  Ogalallas,  and  half  a  dozen  other  tribes, 
who  had  banded  together  to  prevent  the  building  of 
the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad,  and  who,  in  1867  and 
1868,  swept  away  the  habitations  of  the  settlers  and 
ruthlessly  murdered  men,  women,  and  children  indis- 
criminately, had  been  overcome  by  the  government 
forces  under  Generals  Sheridan,  Custer,  Sully,  and  For- 
syth, and  been  placed  upon  reservations,  or  at  least  all 
who  could  be  gathered  up,  although  remnants  of  the 
warlike  bands  were  still  loose  for  moderate  forays. 
The  various  tribes,  still  smarting  under  the  igno- 
miny of  their  defeat  and  feeling  an  irritation  difficult  to 
entirely  conceal,  were  only  restrained  by  fear  of  speedy 
punishment  in  case  of  transgression. 

We  had  not  known  of  the  government  permit  for 
the  Indians  to  be  let  loose  after  the  buffalo,  or  we 
should  not  have  taken  this  route.  We  experienced 
an  anxiety  difficult  to  restrain,  and  as  the  straggling 
groups  of  Indians  came  anywhere  near  us,  attracted 
by  our  train  stalled  at  the  face  of  a  snow-filled  cut, 
we  prepared  for  a  possible  attack.  There  were  but  a 
handful,  a  dozen  or  so  of  passengers,  but  all  men,  and 
with  half  a  dozen  shovellers  and  the  engineer,  fireman, 
and  brakemen  we  could  muster  a  score.  We  had 
plenty  of  arms  and  ammunition,  as  each  train  sent  out 
was  well  equipped  by  the  company,  which  had  fought 


164  Reminiscences  of 

its  way  across  the  plains  almost  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  building.  The  congregated  tribes  of  In- 
dians had  given  out  their  ultimatum  in  1867  that  the 
railroad  should  not  be  built,  but  little  did  they  com- 
prehend the  untiring  force  of  the  paleface,  which, 
however  temporarily  impeded,  never  ceased  in  its  for- 
ward march.  The  twelve  hundred  men  graded  the 
track  and  laid  the  rails  on  the  Kansas  Pacific 
Railroad  in  less  than  two  years.  During  the  period 
of  building,  Colonel  Cody  ("Buffalo  Bill"),  under  con- 
tract with  the  road,  supplied  the  laboring  force  with 
buffalo  meat,  and  with  his  aids  killed  over  five 
thousand  head. 

For  two  days  we  had  biiffalo  all  about  us,  and  at 
times  it  would  appear  as  if  they  would  compel  the 
stoppage  of  our  train.  On  one  occasion  a  bunch  of 
several  hundred  galloped  on  the  track  ahead  of  the 
train  for  half  an  hour,  despite  the  whistling  of  our 
engine,  and  others  galloped  abreast  of  the  train  for 
miles  within  easy  killing  distances. 

Some  days  before  our  passage  a  west-bound  train 
between  Forts  Harker  and  Hays  was  compelled  to  lay 
by  for  five  hours  to  allow  the  buffalo  to  pass.  The 
buffalo  in  passing  repeatedly  endeavored  to  go  be- 
tween the  linked  cars  of  the  train,  and  our  Pullman 
car,  which  was  a  part  of  the  blocked  train,  had  two  of 
its  steps,  broken  down  by  the  weight  of  straggling  buf- 
faloes, still  unrepaired. 

While  several  small  groups  of  Indians  engaged  with 
buffalo  came  within  something  less  than  a  mile  of  us, 
which  put  us  on  guard  for  a  possible  attack,  they  did 
not  indicate  a  disposition  to  visit  us.  It  had  been 
resolved  not  to  allow  any  close  approach  or  familiar 


A  Sportsman  165 

mingling  with  the  savages,  but  to  warn  them  off  if 
they  came  within  danger  limits,  but  an  exception  was 
made  on  the  third  day,  when  we  had  our  greatest  delay 
and  our  heaviest  work  in  clearing  the  cuts,  at  the  ap- 
proach of  three  mounted  Indians,  who  came  at  a  mod- 
erate pace  toward  us  with  extended  open  hands  in 
token  of  peace.  One,  who  spoke  a  little  English,  ex- 
plained to  us  that  one  of  the  party,  a  chief,  would 
accompany  us  until  the  next  day  through  the  buffalo 
country  where  so  many  Indians  were  engaged,  to  pro- 
tect us  from  any  possible  attack  from  young  bucks, 
who  might  break  away  from  the  peaceful  promises 
given  by  the  tribes  to  the  government,  explaining  that 
all  the  Indians  were  not  favorable  to  the  surrender  and 
consequent  removal  of  the  tribes  from  the  plains  to  the 
government  reservations,  and  that  the  chief  would  go 
with  us  for  our  protection  against  any  possible  foray. 
While  this  confirmed  the  feeling  we  had,  that  our 
apprehensions  of  trouble  with  the  Indians  were  not 
groundless,  it  gave  us  a  confidence  which  had  been 
failing  as  to  our  safety.  We  therefore  accepted  this 
hostage  of  security  with  satisfaction,  much  relieved 
from  the  anxiety  we  had  experienced.  We  endeav- 
ored to  make  the  old  chief  as  comfortable  as  possible 
although  he  declined  all  our  advances  and  proffers  of 
friendship,  and  sat  almost  motionless  looking  out  of 
the  car  window  as  the  train  proceeded.  We  did  not 
deem  it  expedient  to  offer  him  fire-water,  but  he 
deigned  without  the  slightest  acknowledgment  to  ac- 
cept a  handful  of  cigars  and  a  box  of  matches,  and  did  a 
moderate  amount  of  smoking.  At  the  station,  hewre 
we  all  got  out  for  supper,  a  while  after  dark,  he  indi- 
cated a  desire  to  leave  us  and  take  the  next  train  back, 


1 66  Reminiscences  of 

and  descended  from  the  car,  pointing  back  in  the  direc- 
tion we  came  from,  but  the  station  agent  to  whom  he 
appealed  held  a  parley  with  him,  and  managed  to  con- 
vince him  of  the  necessity  of  his  going  on  farther,  ex- 
plaining to  us  that  this  personal  accompaniment  of 
Indians  on  each  train  had  been  arranged  for  between 
the  big  chiefs  and  the  railroad  for  the  period  when  the 
buffalo  hunts  should  be  along  the  route.  As  the  buf- 
falo were  proceeding  north,  the  present  condition 
would  last  but  a  few  days  longer. 

Although  a  bed  had  been  made  up  in  our  car  for 
our  dusky  companion  for  the  night,  he  declined  to 
occup}^  it,  and  sat  stolidly  by  the  car  window  all  night- 
The  following  morning,  beyond  the  buffalo  range,  our 
Indian  left  us  at  a  station,  where  he  joined  a  west- 
bound train,  consenting  to  take  from  us  a  moderate 
purse  we  made  up  for  him. 


WHAT  a  singular  spectacle  was  presented  by  our 
train  in  the  last  act  of  the  drama  of  buffalo 
and  Indians,  in  the  last  change  in  the  transition  of  the 
plains  from  wild  buffalo  range  and  barbarism  to  peace- 
ful settlement  and  civilization. 

But  the  evolution  of  the  buffalo  and  Indian  is  no 
more  striking  than  that  of  the  great  Western  country 
which  has  exhibited  such  wondrous  change. 

Ward,  the  Minister  to  Mexico  from  England,  upon 
the  establishment  of  the  new  government  independ- 
ent of  the  dominion  of  Spain,  a  most  sagacious  and 
conservative  author,  whose  work  to-day — published 
in  1827 — is  a  standard  one  upon  Mexico,  said  in  the 
preface  of  his  work: 


A  Sportsman  167 

"The  great  interior  unexplored  region  lying  north 
of  the  Mexican  States  will  remain  for  centuries  practi- 
cally unknown  to  civilization,  and  will  present  to  the 
world  the  spectacle  of  the  last  stronghold  of  savagery 
and  barbarism  to  be  found  upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

This  prophecy  was  given  some  eighty  years  ago — 
not  so  long  but  living  men  can  remember  the  period. 
But  how  great  was  the  error  of  Ward,  and  how 
little  he  appreciated  the  bold  and  advancing  spirit 
of  man,  stimulated  as  it  was  to  be  by  the  wonder- 
fvil  progressiveness  of  new  agencies.  How  aston- 
ished he  would  have  been,  could  he  have  but  seen 
a  slight  reflection  of  the  present  condition  through 
the  region  which  he  then  accounted  as  hopelessly 
given  up  to  desolation  for  centuries. 

Then  the  population  of  the  United  States  was  less 
than  one  sixth  of  the  present  amount,  and  the  settle- 
ments of  the  country  had  but  commenced  to  creep 
away  from  the  Eastern  States.  Not  until  a  decade 
after  did  the  first  steamer  struggle  across  the  briny 
waves  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  first  locomotive  had 
just  been  built.  Steam  in  its  application  to  mechanics 
had  hardly  been  dreamed  of,  and  the  first  principles 
of  electricity  had  hardly  been  conceived.  A  belief 
then  in  the  possibilities  of  ten  billions  of  dollars  of 
investment  in  the  railroads  existing  in  this  country  at 
the  present  day  would  have  been  as  preposterous  as 
the  opinion  now  that  one  hundred  thousand  millions  of 
dollars  may  be  invested  in  electrical  applications  in  a 
century  from  this  date,  and  the  latter  opinion  will  find 
more  believers  now  than  the  first  proposition  could 
have  had  then. 

Cheap  printing  and  telegraphy,  and  the  general 


i68  Reminiscences  of 

diffusion  of  information  by  printing  and  electricity 
throughout  the  world  as  soon  as  it  is  obtained,  and 
cheap  transportation  are  leavening  up  the  whole  world. 
Invention,  advance,  and  intelligence  are  being  stimu- 
lated as  never  before,  and  the  progress  of  arts,  science, 
and  general  information  is  more  rapid  than  could  have 
been  dreamed  of  by  the  optimist  of  half  a  century  ago. 

On  my  second  trip  by  team  across  the  plains  with 
my  two  companions  in  1865  we  were  so  beset  with  buf- 
falo that  an  apprehensiveness  existed  among  the  riders 
and  drivers  that  our  stock  might  be  stampeded,  as  it 
indicated  a  tendency  in  that  direction,  and  at  noon  it 
was  thought  best  to  hold  up  for  the  day  and  let  the 
buffalo  pass,  as  we  had  to  make  a  ford  over  a  consider- 
able width  of  shallow  water  and  sand,  over  which 
buffalo  were  plentifully  scattered  about.  Besides,  we 
had  to  get  grazing  for  the  cattle  and  horses,  which  had 
scant  feed  the  day  before.  So  selecting  a  spot  not  far 
from  the  river,  where  feed  was  plentiful,  a  large  corral 
was  made  of  the  wagons,  in  which  the  stock  was  en- 
closed. This  corral  was  drawn  close  at  night,  as 
before.  A  number  went  out  for  buffalo,  and  I  re- 
gret to  say  that  a  good  many  more  were  killed  than 
could  be  economically  consumed.  One  hunter  claimed 
to  have  killed  a  group  of  five  without  moving  from 
his  position.  Of  these,  only  the  tongues  and  small 
parts  were  taken. 

The  general  method  followed  on  the  plains  in 
killing  buffalo  was  that  of  the  Indians,  to  ride  on  a 
fast  horse  alongside  the  flank  of  the  retreating  buffaloes, 
firing  at  them  back  of  the  shoulder  for  a  vital  spot. 
Without  waiting  for  the  result  the  hunter  proceeded  on, 
engaging  with  others  in  a  similar  manner,  and  would, 


A  Sportsman  169 

under  fortunate  circumstances,  slay  a  number  before 
returning  to  skin  and  cut  up  those  first  killed.  The  In- 
dians with  their  arrows  would  do  great  execution  if  well 
mounted,  and  in  some  instances  would  send  an  arrow 
clear  through  a  buffalo.  Much  depended  upon  the  speed 
and  management  of  the  mustangs  employed,  some  of 
which  acquired  a  singular  skill  and  intelligence  in 
pursuing  the  buffalo,  and  would  in  a  short  time  so 
direct  themselves  as  to  require  no  guidance. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  this  character,  well 
authenticated,  occurred  in  the  presence  of  several  army 
officers  near  Fort  Hays,  in  1868,  where  Colonel  Cody 
("Buffalo  Bill")  exhibited  his  unequalled  skill  in  horse- 
manship and  shooting  accuracy.  Buft'alo  were  about, 
and  a  few  officers  freshly  arrived  at  the  Fort  started 
out  in  conquest.  Buffalo  Bill,  observing  a  group  of 
eleven  buffalo  not  far  off,  hastily  mounted  his  famous 
steed  Brigham.  Not  finding  his  saddle  and  bridle 
convenient,  he  seized  an  old  bridle  and  blinders,  and 
bareback  started  out,  overtaking  the  well-mounted 
officers,  who  made  some  facetious  remarks  at  his 
presence.  He  volunteered  some  advice  to  the  officers 
regarding  the  route  the  buffaloes  were  taking,  and  the 
policy  of  cutting  across  in  a  particular  direction  which 
the  buffalo,  then  running,  would  take.  To  this  the 
officers  gave  no  attention,  and  Buffalo  Bill,  hastily 
throwing  off  his  bridle,  started,  bareback  and  bridle- 
less,  in  the  direction  he  had  indicated.  The  officers, 
giving  speed  directly  for  the  buffaloes,  soon  rounded 
them  in  the  direction  indicated  by  Buffalo  Bill.  The 
latter,  having  the  advantage  of  the  cut-off,  was  soon 
in  advance  alongside  the  bounding  buffalo,  which  his 
obedient    and    trained    Brigham    pressed    closely    in 


I70  Reminiscences  of 

repetition  of  the  manner  so  often  followed  in  previous 
encounters.  Buffalo  Bill,  before  being  overtaken  by 
the  officers,  killed  the  whole  eleven  in  twelve  shots, 
only  one  buffalo,  the  last  one,  requiring  a  second  shot. 
The  officers,  reining  up  at  the  fall  of  the  bi-iffaloes  which 
had  occurred  in  so  brief  a  period,  were  doubly  aston- 
ished to  learn  the  name  of  their  famous  associate. 

The  dense  stupidity  of  the  buffalo  largely  aided 
in  his  destruction.  Skilful  in  protecting  its  young 
and  running  mates  from  the  attacks  of  wolves,  and 
even  the  grizzly  bear  and  mountain  lion,  he  never 
seemed  to  acquire  either  a  knowledge  or  a  fear  of  the 
death-dealing  rifle,  and  many  groups  of  a  dozen  or 
more  would  often  allow  themselves  to  be  shot  down 
one  after  another  by  a  concealed  hunter,  without 
moving  from  their  tracks.  During  the  death-dealing 
periods  after  the  building  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Rail- 
road, there  were  hunters  who  boasted  of  having  killed 
from  fifty  to  seventy-five  buffaloes  in  a  day.  The 
greater  part  of  these  killings  was  solely  for  the  hides, 
netting  often  not  more  than  from  one  to  three  dollars 
each. 

The  exodus  of  buffalo  north,  through  Kansas,  in 
1868,  while  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  was  build- 
ing, was  of  enormous  proportions.  Col.  Henry  In- 
man,  who  was  with  Generals  Sheridan  and  Custer 
and  a  large  military  force  there,  relates  that  they 
were  compelled  to  lay  by  with  their  whole  force  for 
three  days  for  the  immense  swaying  mass  of  buffalo 
to  pass  by,  and  were  compelled  to  exercise  the  precau- 
tion of  corralling  all  their  cattle  and  horses  to  prevent 
their  being  stampeded  and  lost,  and  that  large  num- 
bers of  horses,  mules,  and  cattle  were  lost,  and  never 


A  Sportsman  171 

recovered,  by  the  settlers  and  caravans  crossing  the 
plains.  Colonel  Inman,  from  a  consensus  of  opinion 
formed  by  the  officers,  estimated  that  from  three  to  five 
millions  of  buffalo  were  contained  in  the  moving  masses 
which  passed  north  at  that  period. 

The  only  other  parallel  case  that  I  am  aware  of 
where  a  large  body  of  animals  has  held  an  extensive 
region  in  monopoly  is  that  of  the  kangaroo  in  Aus- 
tralia, which,  sharing  the  fate  of  the  buffalo,  is  found 
now  only  in  small  numbers  in  the  unsettled  parts  of 
the  island,  being  wholly  unknown  now  in  its  old 
havmts.  When  Captain  Cook,  in  his  notable  first  voy- 
age to  Australia  in  1770,  brought  back  knowledge  of 
the  kangaroo  to  the  notice  of  the  world,  it  abounded  in 
many  millions  over  the  arable  areas  of  the  island  con- 
tinent. They  were  then  as  tame  as  domestic  cattle, 
and  a  long  time  after  sheep  were  introduced  grazed 
with  them  in  pleasant  companionship.  But  the  sheep 
men  soon  found  that  they  restricted  the  feed,  and  as 
the  sheep  increased,  large  drives  were  made  of  the 
kangaroos  into  stockaded  pens  with  extended  wings 
after  the  manner  now  followed  in  Southern  California 
for  capturing  jack -rabbits,  and  when  taking  in  a  sweep 
of  twenty-five  square  miles,  it  was  not  unusual  to 
capture  from  three  to  five  thousand  kangaroos  at  a 
single  swoop.  Then,  the  gates  being  closed,  the  old 
male  kangaroos  being  shot  as  dangerous,  the  balance 
were  beaten  to  death  with  clubs,  and  after  the  re- 
moval of  their  skins  were  left  to  waste  upon  the  ground. 

It  is  now  estimated  that  eighty  millions  of  sheep 
are  grazed  in  Australia,  and  that  if  the  kangaroos  were 
now  existing,  as  originally,  not  more  than  ten  or  fif- 
teen million  sheep  could  be  carried  along. 


172  Reminiscences  of 

But  another  animal  plague  has  come  in  Australia, 
since  the  disappearance  of  the  kangaroo,  that  of  the 
little  cotton-tail  rabbit,  unfortunately  introduced  by 
an  experimental  mistake.  These  rabbits  have  mul- 
tiplied so  immensely  as  to  become  a  serious  men- 
ace to  the  sheep  industry,  and  are  now  estimated 
to  consume  the  feed  of  twenty  millions  of  sheep. 
Large  sums  have  been  offered  by  the  authorities 
for  any  remedy  which  would  destroy  them,  but 
without  avail.  Although  the  same  rabbits  exist 
in  California,  they  are  comparatively  scarce,  and 
it  has  been  a  wonderment  to  me  why  they  have 
not  increased.  Possibly  the  coyotes  and  small  vermin 
destroy  them.  In  Australia  they  have  the  dingos  or 
native  wild  dogs,  and  the  Wallaby  bandicoots,  native 
cats,  in  abundance,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  have  any 
appreciable  effect  on  the  rabbits. 

In  the  morning  we  found  that  the  great  body  of 
buffalo  had  passed  on  north,  and  we  saw  only  a  few 
scattered  groups  during  the  day.  We  had  had  enough 
killing  to  satisfy  us,  and  having  seen  all  the  buffalo 
we  desired,  besides  antelope  and  small  game,  con- 
cluded to  join  another  caravan  that  preceded  us, 
which,  being  headed  for  Utah,  diverted  from  the  route 
our  caravan  was  passing  for  the  Platte  River  to  follow 
the  stage  road  from  Julesburg,  which  place  we  reached 
in  a  few  days.  There  we  concluded  to  dispose  of  our 
mule  team  and  horses,  and  take  the  stage  for  Denver. 
I  remained  in  Colorado  a  few  months,  after  which  I 
returned  by  stage  to  the  Missouri  River,  and  by  rail- 
road to  Boston. 


A  Sportsman  173 

IN  the  summer  of  the  following  year,  1866,  I  again 
*  returned  to  Colorado,  having  acquired  some  inter- 
ests there,  and  gave  attention  to  the  further  collection 
of  ores,  of  which  I  already  had  secured  an  extensive 
cabinet.  An  agitation  was  occurring  on  the  subject 
of  having  an  exhibition  of  Colorado  ores  at  the  great 
World's  Exposition  to  be  held  at  Paris,  in  1867,  and 
three  commissioners  had  been  appointed  by  the  Ter- 
ritorial Legislature  to  take  charge  of  the  ores  and 
represent  them  there.  The  funds  in  the  Territory 
were  scant,  and,  no  appropriation  being  made,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  amount  required  should  be  raised 
by  public  subscription.  This  lagged,  and  it  seemed 
hopeless  to  expect  the  amount  could  be  raised. 

The  intention  was  to  take  advantage  of  my  collec- 
tion, as  I  notified  the  Governor  that  the  collection  was 
at  his  disposal,  though  I  did  not  care  to  be  added  to 
the  number  of  commissioners  already  appointed,  but 
in  case  the  amount  to  be  subscribed  should  not  be 
obtained,  I  was  willing  if  appointed  as  sole  com- 
missioner to  go  forward  and  make  the  exhibition  at 
my  personal  expense.  To  this  I  received  no  answer 
but  shortly  after  returning  to  Boston,  and  to  my  sur- 
prise, a  few  weeks  after  my  return,  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  Governor,  enclosing  a  commission  from 
United  States  Secretary  of  State  William  H.  Seward, 
appointing  me  as  sole  commissioner  to  represent 
Colorado  at  the  Paris  Exposition.  I  had  all  my  collec- 
tion immediately  forwarded  to  New  York,  across  the 
plains,  including  all  the  maps  extant,  many  of  which  I 
especially  prepared,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  photo- 
graphs. These  were  shipped  by  one  of  the  French 
steamers  directly  to  Havre  and  Paris  in  the  following 


174  Reminiscences  of 

spring,  which  I  followed  in  due  season.  It  was  my 
first  trip  abroad,  and  my  sensations  when  I  arrived  in 
Paris  in  the  evening  hour  were  of  an  exciting  character. 

As  I  was  carried  through  the  principal  boulevards, 
so  brilliantly  illuminated,  to  the  Grand  Hotel,  the 
lively  and  glittering  presentation  exceeded  my  ex- 
pectations, and  it  seemed  as  if  I  had  reached  a  new 
land  of  enchantment.  The  exposition  buildings  were 
already  completed,  and  many  of  the  departments  were 
already  occupied. 

The  main  building  of  exhibition,  situated  on  the 
large  open  space  on  the  Field  of  Mars  across  the 
Seine  from  the  main  part  of  the  city,  was  oval  in  form 
anh  over  a  mile  in  circumference.  The  structure  was 
of  iron  and  glass,  surrounded  by  annexes  for  machinery, 
agricultural  implements,  minerals,  and  various  heay\^ 
articles.  It  was  intended  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon 
and  the  French  Government  to  have  this  world's 
exhibition  surpass  any  ever  before  given,  and  it  most 
certainly  did.  Napoleon  was  then  in  the  zenith  of  his 
power  and  France  in  the  height  of  prosperity. 

The  American  commissioners,  a  large  number, 
were  already  there,  but  the  American  department 
was  entirely  iinoccupied.  A  large  number  of  Ameri- 
can exhibitors  were  there,  chafing  under  the  delay  in 
having  their  various  quarters  assigned.  N.  M.  Beck- 
with  was  the  United  States  Commissioner  General 
and  Sam'l  B.  Ruggles,  of  New  York,  was  the  second 
in  rank  following  the  chief.  Mr.  Beckwith  had  lived 
with  his  family  in  Paris  for  many  years,  and  pri- 
marily in  India,  from  which  he  had  retired  with  a 
large  fortune.  He  was  a  man  of  singular  indecision, 
lacking  executive  ability.     In  vain  the  exhibitors  ap- 


A  Sportsman  175 

pealed  to  him  to  have  their  various  places  assigned. 
Time  was  rapidly  passing,  and  the  exposition  was 
soon  to  be  opened,  while  the  American  department 
was  dormant  and  lifeless,  and  would  apparently  be 
behind  all  others.  Several  meetings  of  the  exhibitors 
were  held  and  special  committees  were  appointed 
to  confer  with  Mr.  Beckwith.  He  promised  to  act, 
and,  visiting  the  space  assigned  to  the  United  States, 
would  mull  over  it  day  after  day,  seemingly  con- 
fused by  the  earnest  solicitations  of  the  exhibitors. 
The  more  he  was  implored  the  more  he  was  con- 
fused, and  finally  lapsed  into  a  most  incomprehen- 
sible stupor  when  he  was  approached.  Day  by  day 
passed  away  and  no  decision.  In  fact,  he  had  been 
so  long  in  idle  life,  and  without  cause  for  action,  that 
lie  seemed  approaching  imbecility.  He  was,  how- 
ever, sensitive  and  irritable  if  the  slightest  reflection 
was  intimated  as  to  his  action.  The  committee 
received  no  satisfaction,  excepting  in  promises  which 
were  empty.  He  had  failed  to  select  officers  to  pass 
upon  the  assignments  until  the  crowding  applications 
completely  ovenvhelmed  him.  I  was  finally  appointed 
upon  a  committee  to  urge  his  action,  and  straightway 
made  my  appearance  before  him  with  my  associates. 
We  found  him  pleasant  and  afifable,  and  quietly  stated 
our  mission.  This  seemed  to  throw  him  into  a  stupor 
of  indecision,  and,  clasping  his  hands  on  each  side  of  his 
head,  with  elbows  on  the  table,  he  fairly  groaned  with 
perplexity.  Finally  he  said,  "I  will  attend  to  it."  I 
pitied  him,  but  the  necessity  was  urgent.  I  then  said: 
"General  Beckwith,  if  the  exhibitors'  positions  are 
not  assigned  within  twenty-four  hours,  I  shall  move 
for  the  exhibitors  to  act  in  sending  a  cable  to  the 


1 76  Reminiscences  of 

President  of  the  United  States,  asking  for  your 
removal  and  the  appointment  of  another  in  your 
place." 

This  was  a  stunner,  and  the  General  arose,  saying: 

"My  God!  What  do  they  want?  What  more  can 
I  do?" 

I  rejoined,  "Let  them  go  and  take  their  places." 

"Let  them,"  said  the  General;  "let  them  go  and 
take  their  places.     Will  that  satisfy  them?" 

"Certainly  it  will,"  I  rejoined,  "and  that  is  all 
they  can  desire." 

Upon  this  we  made  our  adieus,  thanking  the  Gen- 
eral for  his  consideration. 

As  rapidly  as  a  cab  could  drive  us,  we  hurried 
back  to  the  general  meeting  room,  which  was  my 
salon  at  the  Grand,  I  having  freely  tendered  it  to  the 
exliibitors  and  commissioners  in  the  absence  of  any 
other  provided  place  of  meeting  at  that  time. 

We  circulated  the  information  as  rapidly  as  we 
could  to  all  interested,  and  it  was  great  news  for 
the  exhibitors.  It  was  a  life  scramble  for  place  and 
there  was  great  hurrying  to  and  fro. 

I  was  fully  prepared,  having  completed  all  my 
cases  and  shelving  of  more  than  a  thousand  feet 
with  plate-glass  fronts  and  proper  adornments.  I 
had  a  valuable  assistant,  a  Parisian  whom  I  had  em- 
ployed to  constantly  guard  my  collection.  I  soon 
had  twenty  workmen  at  double  pay  on  the  swing 
for  all-night  work  in  placing  my  shelving,  hanging 
maps,  and  spreading  my  ores,  and  by  lo  o'clock  in 
the  morning  I  had  everything  in  place,  and  my  as- 
sistants were  just  distributing  a  plentiful  supply  of 
fresh   flowers   over   the   top   railings,    when    General 


A  Sportsman  177 

Beckwith  made  his  appearance.  His  attitude  was 
belligerent  and  he  strode  toward  me,  saying: 

"Why,  what  is  this?  You  can't  stay  here!  This 
is  the  centre  reserved  for  pianos,  paintings,  and  works 
of  art.  All  the  minerals  will  have  to  go  into  the 
annex,  where  the  machinery  and  minerals  are  all  to 
go,  etc." 

I  mildly  informed  him  of  his  assent  that  the  ex- 
hibitors were  to  select  their  places,  and  was  not  the 
Colorado  exhibit  as  displayed  one  of  the  first  to  be  in 
place,  and  worthy  of  the  position,  and  having  brought 
the  collection  so  far  over  a  long  distance,  would  it  not 
be  best  to  leave  it  as  established.  But  he  would  have 
nothing  of  it  and  left  with  much  indignation,  for  I  had 
selected  the  very  centre  of  the  American  department, 
with  a  liberal  extension  of  some  forty  feet  on  each  side 
of  an  angle,  and  had  the  front  floor  well  held  down  by  a 
few  tons  of  mineral  masses,  coal,  ingots  of  silver  and 
copper,  and  other  products  of  similar  character.  Suf- 
fice to  say  that  the  Colorado  exhibit  remained  through- 
out the  exhibition  in  this  place. 

General  Dix  was  then  our  Minister  to  France. 
Paris  was  very  gay  with  its  large  influx  of  foreign 
visitors,  and  the  American  delegation  was  largely 
represented.  At  least  it  seemed  very  gay  and  attrac- 
tive to  me,  so  much  so  that  I  found  it  very  difficult  to 
do  much  sober  work. 

I  published  fifteen  thousand  substantial  pamphlets 
on  Colorado,  one  third  of  each  in  English,  French, 
and  German,  all  illustrated  with  a  map  of  the  United 
States  and  of  Colorado,  with  a  list  of  the  ores  ex- 
hibited, and  a  e:eneral  description  of  the  products  of 
the  Territory  and  its  history. 


178  Reminiscences  of 

I  stupidly  left  the  material  of  this  work  to  be 
written  when  I  should  arrive  in  Paris,  having  the 
matter  in  rough  outhne.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
difficulty  I  experienced  in  preparing  this  work.  It 
seemed  impossible  to  get  at  it.  Of  course,  I  had 
little  time  after  my  arrival  to  do  it.  I  would  wait 
until  I  had  my  collection  placed,  btit  then  I  had  no 
time  to  spare.  I  was  out  every  night.  General  Dix 
was  giving  weekly  receptions.  The  American  resi- 
dents were  giving  nightly  dinners,  dances,  and  balls. 
Theatres  and  operas  and  official  entertainments  to 
which  the  commissioners  were  invited  occupied  much 
of  my  time,  which  necessitated  daily  visits  to  the 
exposition. 

With  associates  similar  in  disposition  to  my  own, 
our  time  was  given  to  restaurants,  drives  on  the 
Bois,  and  the  races;  out  everj-  night  until  the  small 
hours,  and  sometimes  accompanied  home  by  the 
dawning  light,  for  light  comes  early  in  Paris  in  the 
summer  months. 

How  I  struggled  to  complete  my  pamphlet  of 
a  himdred  pages  on  far-off  Colorado.  I  never  con- 
sult that  old  work  without  smiling  at  the  sentence 
which  I  read  over  a  dozen  times  or  more,  and  was 
unable  to  get  beyond  it.  Describing  Denver,  pleas- 
antly situated  on  Cherry  Creek:  "Rising  evenly 
beyond  are  higher  hills,  girt  with  walls  of  rock  shoot- 
ing up  perpendicularly  for  himdreds  of  feet,  seeming 
like  embattlements  ready  to  belch  forth  the  crashing 
weight  of  iron  upon  the  vales  below.  Succeeding  are 
ranges  of  moimtains  piling  in  upon  each  other  imtil 
they  culminate  in  white  peaks  at  an  altitude  of  from 
14,000  to  16,000  feet  above  tide  water.     These  are  the 


A  Sportsman  179 

beacon  lights  of  welcome  to  the  weary  traveller  on 
the  plains,  long  before  he  refreshes  himself  at  the 
sparkling  streams  of  the  foothills  which  they  supply." 

There  I  paused  to  drink  water  and  listen  for  the 
echo  and  reverberations  of  the  battlement  artillery. 
Day  after  day  I  would  read  it  over,  but  could  get 
no  farther,  and  finally  had  to  get  Harry  Furbush  to 
start  it  on  for  me.  By  the  way,  he  had  a  very  attrac- 
tive, sprightly  sister,  quite  a  belle  in  Paris  at  the  time. 
I  met  her  a  few  years  ago.  She  was  living  in  Rhode 
Island  with  her  family  of  nine  children.  How  time 
has  flown  since  1867.  It  seems  only  a  few  years  ago. 
I  should  be  very  glad  to  live  it  over  again. 

A  ver\'  simple  friend  was  Dunlap,  from  Peoria, 
111.  One  day  I  dined  with  him  and  two  others  at 
the  Diner  de  Paris — five  francs,  including  a  full  bottle 
of  common  Bordeaux.  One  could,  at  the  same  price, 
change  the  quart  of  wine  oflf  for  a  pint  of  superior 
quality.  When  the  four  bottles  of  wine  were  put  on 
the  table  we  concluded  one  would  do  for  all  of  us,  and 
I  said  to  the  waiter:  "Take  oflf  this  wine  and  boil  it 
down  to  one  bottle,"  and  he  soon  returned  with  it. 

The  next  day  I  met  Dunlap  at  the  exposition,  and 
when  about  to  leave  him  he  said:  "I  have  been  think- 
ing what  a  wonderful  people  these  French  are.  But 
I  want  to  ask  you  how  that  waiter  at  dinner  last 
night  could  boil  down  those  four  bottles  of  wine  into 
one  in  five  minutes  and  have  it  come  so  cold." 

The  display  of  minerals  at  the  exposition  was 
very  extensive  and  interesting,  all  of  which,  except 
that  of  Colorado,  were  relegated  to  the  various  an- 
nexes, and  when  the  award  of  prizes  was  made  I 
had  the  satisfaction  of  receiving  the  gold  medal  of 


i8o  Reminiscences  of 

the  first  class.  This  was  a  large  medal  intrinsically 
worth  fifty  dollars.  Upon  one  side  was  the  raised 
bust  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  and  the  words,  "Ex- 
position Universelle  Frangais,  1867,"  and  upon  the 
other  my  name  and  award  for  exhibition  of  Colorado 
ores.  In  addition  to  the  award  was  a  recommenda- 
tion of  the  International  Jury  of  special  recognition 
for  the  exhibit  in  its  completeness,  which  had  been 
conveyed  from  such  a  distant  region.  This  recom- 
mendation of  the  jtiry  to  the  Emperor,  which  was 
made  in  a  few  exceptional  cases,  occasioned  an  addi- 
tional expression  of  high  consideration,  which  I 
received  from  the  hands  of  the  Emperor  at  the  dis- 
tribution of  recompenses  at  the  Palace  of  Industry 
on  July  I,  1867. 

France  at  the  period  of  the  exposition  was  at  its 
height  of  prosperity,  and  Napoleon  the  Third  at  the 
zenith  of  his  power  and  influence. 

The  Emperor  had  designed  the  occasion  of  the 
distribution  of  the  exposition  awards  to  be  one  of 
unequalled  grandeur  and  effect.  The  scene  occurred 
at  the  Palace  of  Industry  on  the  Avenue  des 
Champ  Elysdes,  midway  from  the  Tuileries  to  the 
Bois  de  Bologne. 

This  Palace  of  Industry,  of  iron  and  glass,  was  of 
stupendous  capacity,  capable  of  seating  thirty  thou- 
sand spectators  about  a  central  area  of  large  extent. 
In  this  area  were  erected  half  a  dozen  large  groups 
representing  the  various  industries,  leaving  large 
spaces  intervening  with  a  wide  promenade  around 
the  whole.  On  one  side,  centrally  located,  was  a 
raised  dais  or  platform  from  the  floor  of  moderate 
height,  and  two  hundred  feet  in   length,  reached  by 


A  Sportsman  i8i 

four  or  five  steps,  the  whole  covered  with  a  crim- 
son carpet.  In  the  rear  of  the  platform  was  an  im- 
mense extending  canopy  with  the  Imperial  coat  of 
arms,  and  hung  with  Gobelin  tapestry.  This  was 
the  dais  designed  and  occupied  by  the  principal 
monarchs  of  Europe  or  their  representatives  gathered 
by  the  Emperor  to  give  6clat  to  the  recognition  of 
merit.  This  presented  probably  the  most  distin- 
gviished  exhibition  of  royalty  ever  assembled.  Cen- 
trally seated  were  Napoleon  and  the  Empress  Eugenie, 
and  adjoining  the  American  Ambassador,  the  Czar 
of  Russia,  the  Kings  of  Prussia,  Austria,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  Belgium,  Spain,  and  other  monarchies,  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  Shah  of  Persia,  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey,  Bismarck,  and  other  most  prominent  European 
celebrities.  The  gardens  and  conservatories  of  Paris  and 
environs  were  denuded  of  flowers  to  grace  the  event. 

The  great  musical  composition  of  Rosini  to  the 
French  people  was  rendered  by  a  choir  of  twelve 
hvmdred  girls  in  white,  with  salvos  of  artillery  ap- 
propriately timed  from  the  distant  Champ  des  Mars. 

Forty  thousand  troops  of  the  French  army  lined 
both  sides  of  the  avenue  from  the  Palace  of  the  Tuil- 
eries  to  that  of  the  Industry,  presenting  arms  on  the 
passage  of  the  royal  cortege  from  the  former  to  the 
latter. 

The  exhibiting  recipients  of  first  prizes,  and  espe- 
cially recompenses,  by  notice  given,  were  gathered  in 
full  dress,  at  a  central  position  in  front  of  the  royal 
assemblage.  The  opening  was  declared  by  the  Em- 
peror Napoleon,  who  advanced  to  the  front  and  read 
in  a  clear  and  comparatively  sonorous  voice  the  few 
words  of  opening.     This  was  followed  by  the  French 


J  82  Reminiscences  of 

Minister  of  State,  M.  Roviher,  who  made  a  somewhat 
lengthy  address  of  welcome  and  illustration  of  the 
exposition.  The  names  of  those  receiving  the  first 
gold  medal  and  decorations  were  then  called  singly  in 
sequence,  and  as  each  name  was  given  the  fortvmate 
exhibitor  advanced  forth  from  the  group  to  the  plat- 
form and  ascended  the  few  steps  to  the  royal  presence 
and  received  either  from  the  Emperor  or  the  Empress 
personally  the  award. 

Despite  the  august  assemblage,  all  went  on  pleas- 
antly without  delays,  and  with  entire  absence  of 
formalities  or  embarrassment,  as  democratic  as  one 
could  desire.  Many  nods  and  words  of  recognition 
were  given  by  the  Emperor  and  Empress  as  famil- 
iar faces  appeared,  and  much  applause  came  from 
the  audience  as  well-known  figures  advanced  to  the 
platform. 

It  was  slightly  amusing  at  times  to  witness  the 
missing  back  step  of  some  of  oiu"  confreres  in  retreat- 
ing from  the  royal  presence,  but  every  incident  of  this 
kind  was  received  in  the  utmost  good-nature  with 
friendly  smiles. 

The  awards  of  silver  medals  only  to  the  rich 
regions  of  California  and  Nevada,  which  had  pro- 
duced hundreds  of  milUons  in  value,  while  Colorado 
had  hardly  commenced  a  production,  was  expressed 
in  much  disappointment  by  the  Pacific  press.  One 
Cahfomia  paper  designated  Colorado  as  occu]iying 
an  unknown  isolated  peak  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
but  its  boundaries  are  now  established  and  well  known, 
and  it  is  the  banner  State  in  the  Union  in  its  produc- 
tion of  the  precious  metals. 

The  exhibits  from  the  Pacific  mining  regions  were 


A  Sportsman  183 

limited  in  extent,  and  lacking  in  classification  and 
descriptions,  which  accounted  largely  for  the  slight 
recognition  received  at  the  exposition,  quite  unworthy 
of  those  superior  and  extraordinary  regions  whose 
products  occasioned  an  epoch  in  the  monetary  con- 
ditions of  the  world. 


NjOT  long  after  the  prize  awards  at  Paris  I  was  in- 
•^  ^  formed  by  my  assistant  at  the  exposition  in  the 
afternoon  of  my  visit  that  the  Emperor,  in  the  fore- 
noon, had  personally  made  a  prolonged  examination 
of  the  Colorado  ores,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Ruggles, 
our  American  Vice-Commissioner-General,  and  this  was 
afterwards  confirmed  by  Mr.  Ruggles,  who  also  informed 
me  that  the  Emperor  had  requested  him  to  have  the 
Colorado  Commissioner  visit  him  at  the  Tuileries,  to 
whom  he  would  give  an  audience. 

Mr.  S.  B.  Ruggles,  the  Vice-Commissioner-General 
to  the  exposition,  was  a  most  capable  man  of  broad 
and  comprehensive  views,  and  the  latter  part  of  his 
Ufe  was  given  in  exertions  for  a  general  international 
acceptance  of  imiversal  standards  of  coinage,  weights, 
and  measures,  which  undoubtedly  will  have  to  come 
some  day,  though  the  conditions  may  not  be  ripe  yet 
for  acceptance.  He  told  me  he  was  present  at  the 
first  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal. 

We  had  rooms  together  at  the  Grand  Hotel,  two 
bedrooms  and  a  mutual  salon.  Despite  his  age  (a 
little  over  eighty)  he  was  a  regular  student,  and  upon 
arriving  in  Paris  commenced  the  study  of  the  French 
language,  and  it  was  amusing  to  see  him  up  early  in 
the  morning  in  his  dressing-gown,  with  his  head  as 


i84  Reminiscences  of 

bare  as  a  billiard  ball,  without  the  fine  flowing  wig  he 
wore  when  dressed,  intently  studying  his  child's  French 
primer  book,  spelling  out  the  simple  words  of  cat,  dog, 
rat,  apple,  and  svmdry  other  simple  words  as  illustrated 
above  the  spelling.  But  he  made  slow  headway  and 
was  much  disgusted  with  his  inability  to  talk  and  un- 
derstand French.  But  it  indicated  his  disposition  for 
work  and  his  activity  of  mind,  which  advancing  age 
had  not  impaired. 

He  accompanied  me  to  the  interview  with  the 
Emperor  at  the  Tuileries,  where  we  received  a  pleasant 
reception,  quite  free  from  any  formality.  I  had  pre- 
viously had  bound  up  my  three  exposition  works  in 
English,  French,  and  German  on  large  paper,  with 
maps  of  the  United  States  and  Colorado,  and  a  photo- 
graph of  the  Colorado  exhibit.  This  book  I  had  bound 
in  elegant  form  at  the  Emperor's  bookbindery,  where 
all  books  added  to  his  library  were  rebound  in  pale 
green  morocco,  embossed  on  the  front  with  the  Im- 
perial coat-of-arms.  This  book  I  presented  to  the 
Emperor,  who  pleasantly  received  it,  and  entered  into 
a  conversation  about  Colorado  and  its  resources.  The 
Emperor  spoke  English  perfectly  with  but  slight  ac- 
cent, and  I  was  rather  surprised  with  his  apparent 
knowledge  of  the  western  regions  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  northern  States  of  Mexico,  and  upon  my 
expressing  my  surprise  he  informed  me  that  he  had 
lately  received  for  the  government  special  reports  on 
Chihuahua,  Durango,  and  other  Mexican  States  from 
commissioners  sent  out  for  the  purpose. 

I  took  pains  to  impress  upon  the  Emperor  the  con- 
spicuous importance  I  believed  Colorado  would  gain 
in  the  future  from  its  practically  inexhaustible  mineral 


A  Sportsman  185 

wealth,  which  resulted  in  his  conclusion  to  have  a 
commissioner  sent  out  to  examine  and  report  officially 
upon  the  subject.  This  afterwards  led  to  the  api)oint- 
ment  of  Louis  Simonin,  author  of  La  Vie  Suterraine, 
a  prominent  French  work  on  mines,  and  of  other  min- 
ing works,  and  Professor  of  Geology  in  the  French 
"Ecole  des  Mines."  Monsieur  Simonin  was  also  a 
prominent  contributor  to  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes, 
published  in  several  languages,  in  which  after  his  visit 
he  gave  extensive  accoimts  of  Colorado  and  his  experi- 
ences there. 

Our  conversation  with  the  Emperor  then  turned 
toward  Mr.  Ruggles's  subject  of  a  universal  system  of 
coinage,  weights,  and  measures,  which  the  Emperor 
highly  approved  of,  and  remarked  that  such  should  be 
decimal,  which  France  had  already  adopted.  The  Em- 
peror asked  Mr.  Ruggles  if  he  had  acqvdred  a  knowledge 
of  the  French  language,  to  which  Mr.  Ruggles  had  to 
own  he  knew  Uttle  of  it,  but  thought  he  had  acquired 
a  slight  knowledge  until  a  late  incident  satisfied  him 
how  hopeless  it  was.  A  few  days  before,  finding 
himself  confused  in  a  part  of  the  city  he  was  imac- 
quainted  with,  he  thought  it  an  appropriate  occasion 
to  air  the  little  French  he  had  acquired,  and  approach- 
ing a  gendarme  asked  him  the  way  to  the  Rue  de 
RivoU,  for  if  he  could  get  there  he  would  be  all  right 
for  anywhere  he  would  wish  to  go.  The  gendarme  had 
him  repeat  his  inquiry  several  times,  and  then,  with  a 
puzzled  air,  said : 

"Pardon,    monsieur,  mais  je  ne  comprend  pas  Alle- 
mande  "  (Pardon,  sir,  but  I  do  not  understand  German). 

The  Emperor  laughed  very  heartily  at  this,  in 
which  Ruggles  and  I  had  to  join. 


1 86  Reminiscences  of 

I  could  give  many  incidents  occurring  during  my 
stay  of  several  months  in  Paris,  which  would  lengthen 
out  unnecessarily  my  details,  which  might  prove 
of  little  interest  to  the  general  reader,  and  which  I  will 
pass  over  briefly.  One  incident  of  some  interest  I  will 
relate. 

One  evening  by  invitation,  I  dined  with  an  Eng- 
lish friend  and  his  wife  at  the  Cafd  Foy,  a  small 
but  very  superior  restaurant  near  one  of  the  principal 
bovilevards;  a  gentleman  entered  to  dine  whom  my 
host  immediately  recognized  as  a  friend,  and  whom  he 
greeted  with  his  wife  in  a  cordial  manner,  and  invited 
him  to  dine  with  us,  which  he  did,  and  to  whom  I  was 
immediately  introduced,  but  I  did  not  catch  his  name 
in  the  temporary  movements  at  the  table.  The  new- 
comer was  of  jovial  and  pleasant  manner,  and  made 
himself  at  home  without  ceremony.  His  evening  dress 
was  a  little  off  in  necktie,  and  he  wore  a  profusion  of 
jewelry  on  his  hands  and  on  his  heavy-  watch-chain, 
and  carefully  tucked  in  his  napkin  under  his  chin,  as 
if  bent  on  a  full  dinner,  which  he  had.  I  was  struck 
with  his  hearty  appreciation  of  everything  we  had  for 
dinner,  and  the  vigor  of  his  appetite,  which  he  ac- 
cotinted  for  by  the  long  walk  he  said  he  had  taken 
before  in  preparation  for  dinner.  His  spirits  were 
high  and  his  conversation  of  the  most  animated  char- 
acter, which  inspired  us  in  a  similar  way.  We  had  a 
most  jolly  dinner,  and  our  stay  was  prolonged  after  the 
other  diners  had  retired.  The  conversation  was  gen- 
eral— the  exposition,  the  French  people,  and  the  con- 
trast between  the  French  and  English  fully  discussed; 
the  races,  incidents,  references  to  friends,  etc.  Lunch- 
ing with  my  friend  and  his  Avife  the  following  day,  and 


A  Sportsman  187 

referring  to  our  dinner  the  evening  before,  I  asked  the 
name  of  our  guest,  as  I  did  not  catch  it,  to  which  my 
friend  answered  by  saying,  "Why,  that  was  Charles 
Dickens!"  I  met  Mr.  Dickens  afterward  in  London 
during  my  frequent  visits  there,  and  again  in  Boston, 
during  his  lecturing  tour  in  the  United  States. 


I  DINED  one  evening  at  the  house  of  Emile  de  Girar- 
din,  the  noted  owner  and  editor  of  La  Liberty, 
whose  salon,  presided  over  by  Madame  Girardin,  was 
noted  as  one  of  the  most  social  and  political  centres  of 
Paris.  I  was  seated  beside  a  Frenchman  who  spoke 
English  fluently,  and  who  had  travelled  much  over  the 
world  and  particularly  in  America,  and  who  indicated 
so  much  interest  in  Colorado  that  I  dwelt  upon  it  more 
than  I  otherwise  should.  This  gentleman  proved  to 
be  Mr.  Geise,  a  prominent  official  in  the  Credit  Fon- 
der, an  important  financial  institution  of  Paris. 

Before  I  left  Boston,  in  conversation  with  Oakes 
Ames  with  mention  of  my  proposed  departure  for 
Paris,  Mr.  Ames  remarked  that  as  General  Dix  was 
there,  and  President  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
the  French  people  could  perhaps  be  interested  in 
it,  and  if  so  the  road  would  be  glad  to  get  a  loan 
there  on  its  bonds.  Those  who  are  famiUar,  as  I 
am,  with  the  early  history  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road know  the  struggles  it  had  to  sustain  itself  in  the 
first  part  of  its  building.  It  was  largely  discredited  in 
business  circles,  and  found,  despite  the  large  gifts  of 
lands  given  by  the  government  and  the  government's 
credit  in  bonds,  that  at  various  times  it  seemed  as  if 


i88  Reminiscences  of 

the  building  would  result  in  a  failure.  Few  of  those 
interested  in  the  Credit  Mobilier,  organized  to  carry 
through  the  business,  believed  that  any  profits 
wovild  be  derived  other  than  those  which  would  be 
obtained  in  the  building  of  the  road.  Mr.  Ames,  how- 
ever, believed  to  the  contrary,  and  but  for  his  own  in- 
domitable will  and  resources  the  road  would  not  have 
been  carried  on  in  its  building  by  the  original  pro- 
moters. 

The  conversation  with  Mr.  Geise  occasioned  his 
joining  the  expedition  with  Mr.  Simonin,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  making  of  the  first  loan  of  $5,000,000 
realized  by  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  Another  was 
added  in  Colonel  Heine,  a  brother-in-law  of  Erlanger, 
the  Paris  banker,  a  German  of  broad  views  and  com- 
prehensiveness, who  was  actuated  by  philanthropic 
motives,  as  to  an  opening  for  Saxon  miners  who 
worked  hard  in  their  native  country  for  small  pay. 

I  visited  Swansea  in  Wales  with  the  sulphuret  ores 
of  Colorado,  which  were  too  stubborn  for  any  process 
known  in  Colorado,  and  when  shown  to  the  experts  of 
Vivian's  great  smelting  works  they  occasioned  a  smile 
and  response  that  they  could  be  easily  and  successfully 
treated. 

"?.•  At  this  time  Prof.  N.  P.  Hill,  of  Colorado,  and 
afterward  United  States  Senator  from  that  State,  came 
to  Swansea  and  seciu-ed  the  aid  of  competent  workmen 
and  soon  afterward  erected  appropriate  smelting  works 
at  Black  Hawk,  in  Gilpin  County,  from  which  grew  the 
ultimate  great  smelting  works  in  Pueblo,  Col.,  which 
have  made  Colorado  the  banner  State  of  the  Union  in 
mining  the  precious  ores. 

I  returned  to  Colorado  from  Paris  with  the  parties 


A  Sportsman  189 

mentioned,  taking  the  cars  from  Omaha  part  way 
across  the  plains,  and  then  taking  stage  the  balance 
of  the  way. 

With  my  associates,  Simonin,  Heine,  and  Geise,  we 
left  Paris  the  latter  part  of  September,  1867,  by  the 
French  steamer  from  Havre  to  New  York  and  on  to 
Omaha.  The  Union  Pacific  Railroad  was  then  com- 
pleted some  two  hundred  miles  out  on  the  plains,  and 
from  its  termination  we  took  stage  to  Denver.  Our 
passage  by  the  latter  method  required  four  days  of 
travel  night  and  day.  The  railroad  was  not  then  dis- 
patching daily  trains,  and  the  semi-weekly  one  which 
we  occupied  was  of  slow  progress  on  the  new  road  and 
carried  an  unusual  number  of  cars,  conveying  a  small 
body  of  Mormons  for  Salt  Lake,  escorted  by  an  elder  of 
the  elect,  and  several  carloads  of  young  western  people, 
going  out  to  occupy  lands  acquired  from  the  rail- 
road. 

Colonel  Heine  was  a  large  man  of  rather  imposing 
cast,  dressed  in  velvet  with  leggings,  and,  carrying 
with  strap  over  shoulder  a  large  field-glass  case,  at- 
tracted considerable  attention.  Overhearing  at  one  of 
the  eating  stations  from  some  of  the  chattering  rustics, 
fellow-passengers,  comments  about  Colonel  Heine,  and 
a  suggestion  from  one  of  them  that  it  might  be  Brighara 
Young,  I  quietly  beckoned  him  inside  and  told  him  in 
a  most  confidential  manner  that  he  had  evidently  pene- 
trated the  disguise  of  the  wily  Brigham,  and  that  he 
had  best  keep  it  to  himself,  or  at  least  not  give  out  the 
discovery  beyond  his  most  intimate  and  reliable  friends 
who  could  be  depended  upon.  That  Mr.  Young,  pre- 
suming upon  his  being  little  known  in  the  East,  had 
perhaps  supposed  himself  unrecognized  in  his  disguise, 


19°  Reminiscences  of 

and  that  probably  it  would  be  as  well  to  let  him  think 
so,  as  most  likely  he  was  accompanied  by  his  body- 
guard of  Danites,  likewise  disguised,  and  being  now  so 
far  out  on  the  plains  one  could  not  tell  what  might 
happen.  In  further  conversation  I  intimated  that  it 
was  possible  that  Mr.  Young  had  been  East  to  get  a 
new  stock  of  wives,  as  probably  with  his  lively  disposi- 
tion he  might  have  accounted  the  old  stock  as  stale 
and  antiquated,  in  view  of  the  improved  order  ex- 
pected now  to  be  inaugurated  by  the  passage  of  a  trans- 
continental railroad.  But  who  knew  ?  No  one.  Per- 
haps it  would  be  as  well,  however,  in  view  of  there 
being  on  our  train  a  good  many  young  settlers  going 
on  with  their  not  bad-looking  yoimg  wives — it  would 
be  as  well  to  keep  an  eye  to  windward  and  prevent,  as 
far  as  possible,  any  unrighteous  sealing  on  the  part  of 
the  vigilant  Mr.  Young. 

Deeming  this  sufficient,  with  renewed  suggestions  of 
prudence  in  giving  out  any  information  of  his  detec- 
tive sagacity,  excepting  to  those  whom  he  could  de- 
pend upon,  I  left  the  future-to-be-chief  of  a  detective 
department,  and  at  convenient  opportunity  acquainted 
Colonel  Heine  with  the  role  he  had  been  assigned, 
which  he  was  much  amused  with,  and,  being  a  great 
joker,  proceeded  at  the  next  eating  station  to  stroll 
along  the  platform  with  a  box  of  seals  he  happened  to 
have  in  his  portmanteau,  ready  for  action.  It  was 
quite  evident  that  the  detective  had  judiciously 
imparted  information  by  the  divergence  of  the 
settlers  as  they  passed  along  the  platform  by  the 
Colonel,  who,  holding  an  open  box  of  red  seals  in  his 
left  hand,  held  one  affixed  to  the  index  finger  of  his 
right  hand  ready  for  action.     The  young  women  gave 


1 


A  Sportsman  191 

him  a  wide  berth,  but  the  elderly  matrons  indicated 
rare  courage.  J       ■]  ;|  --'I  •; 

The  gaining  of  the  gold  medal  for  Colorado  had 
become  known  in  Colorado  soon  after  its  award,  and 
created  a  vast  deal  more  of  enthusiasm  than  it  would 
have  elsewhere,  from  a  region  which  had  experienced 
more  or  less  a  feeling  of  isolation.  The  coming  of  the 
commissioner  from  the  French  government  and  of  the 
other  distinguished  visitors  was  heralded  by  telegraph 
in  advance,  and  we  were  surprised,  when  within  ten 
miles  out  from  Denver,  to  be  met  by  a  committee  of 
movmted  citizens  that  had  been  formed  to  escort  us 
over  the  last  part  of  our  route,  and  to  learn  that  a 
rousing  ovation  was  to  be  tendered  us  upon  our  arrival. 

As  our  stage  drove  up  to  deliver  us  at  the  Planters' 
Hotel,  a  large  portion  of  the  town  was  in  evidence, 
besides  a  band  of  music  which  discoursed  lively  airs. 
The  greeting  was  most  hearty  and  the  hand-shaking 
my  associates  received  was  a  new  feature  in  their  ex- 
perience. It  had  been  arranged  that  a  reception 
should  be  given  that  evening  in  one  of  the  church 
buildings,  where  we  proceeded  after  a  wash-up  and 
change  of  apparel.  The  building,  though  not  limited 
in  extent,  was  crowded  to  its  capacity,  and  to  meet 
the  expectations,  Simonin,  Heine,  and  I  had  to  make 
acknowledgments  of  appreciation  and  references  to 
some  matters  we  knew  of,  and  others  we  did  not. 

Mr.  Geise  speedily  returned  home,  leaving  Simonin 
and  Heine  and  myself  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  ovations 
which  were  extended  to  us  from  the  principal  mining 
sections  of  the  region.  We  made  an  extended  exam- 
ination of  the  mineral  conditions,  receiving  banquets 
at  Denver,  Central  City,  and  Georgetown,  at  each  of 


192  Reminiscences  of 

which  towns  we  gave  lectvires  to  meet  the  general  de- 
sire of  the  people.  Simonin's  was  on  mining  affairs 
and  the  comparison  of  Colorado  mines  with  those  of 
other  countries.  Heine's  was  upon  the  general  world 
in  comparison  with  Colorado,  and  the  necessity  of  in- 
viting experienced  miners  from  European  countries, 
especially  from  Germany.  My  lectures  were  upon  the 
Paris  Exposition  and  the  future  of  Colorado,  and  I  will 
here  note  that  after  the  first  delivery  of  my  lecture  in 
Denver  I  remarked  to  Simonin  and  Heine  that  I  felt  a 
consciousness  that  I  had  gone  too  far  in  my  sanguine 
illustrations  of  the  future  of  that  country,  and  in  my 
suggestions  of  the  readiness  they  should  be  in  to  re- 
ceive the  benefits  of  the  civilizing  effects  of  railroads, 
which  would  ramify,  and  the  developments  that  would 
occur  from  a  rapidly  increasing  population. 

It  appeared  to  me  that  perhaps  I  was  drawing  too 
heavily  upon  the  expectation  for  the  nourishment  of 
a  moderate  population,  suffering  from  the  want  of 
many  necessities  of  comfort,  and  largely  isolated  from 
the  general  world.  But  as  I  reflect  now  after  an  inter- 
val of  forty  years  and  consider  the  present  popula- 
tion of  the  State,  which  has  more  than  doubled  in 
each  decade,  and  the  railroads  which  intersect  its 
limits,  surpassing  in  extent  and  profitable  business  any 
other  similar  area  west  of  the  Missouri  River,  and 
its  annual  yield  of  precious  ores,  exceeding  that  of  any 
other  State  in  the  Union  or  of  any  European  sover- 
eignty, I  am  satisfied  that  my  prophecies  were  more 
below  than  above  the  realizations. 


A  Sportsman  193 

A  PROPOS  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon's  interest  in 
'^  Colorado,  before  referred  to, it  will  be  remembered 
that  the  Emperor,  always  a  dreamer  of  the  Empire, 
had  but  lately  experienced  the  reverses  of  the  French 
troops  sent  to  Mexico  to  aid  the  unfortunate  Maxi- 
milian, brother  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  whom 
Napoleon  endeavored  to  establish  upon  the  throne  of 
Mexico,  and  establish  a  Latin  Monarchy  there.  Al- 
though Maximilian  had  been  executed  by  the  Mexican 
General  Juarez  and  the  French  troops  had  been  with- 
drawn, the  Emperor,  with  that  tenacity  constitu- 
tional with  him,  had  never  become  reconciled  to  the 
result,  and  undoubtedly  still  dreamed  of  a  future 
conquest.  It  will  be  noted  that  Napoleon  in  his 
scheme  of  a  Latin  Empire  upon  the  American  con- 
tinent had  more  foundation  for  a  possibility  of  suc- 
cess than  would  be  willingly  conceded  by  the  younger 
generation  of  this  country,  whose  memories  do  not 
extend  back  forty  years,  and  who  do  not  remember 
how  critical  at  many  times  the  conditions  were  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War,  when  the  strongest  supporters  of 
the  Union  grew  faint  with  apprehensions.  There 
were  several  occasions  when,  if  a  recognition  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  by  the  principal  European  coun- 
tries had  occurred,  it  would  have  almost  insured  the 
success  of  the  South. 

There  is  but  little  doubt  that  when  Napoleon,  sup- 
porting Maximilian  during  the  earlier  part  of  the 
Civil  War,  when  the  Union  was  distracted  by  its 
internal  convulsions,  invited  the  English  government 
to  join  France  in  a  recognition  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy, the  Union  was  in  great  peril,  for  a  recogni- 
tion,  as  proposed,   would  have  involved  the  North 


194  Reminiscences  of 

in  an  additional  conflict  with  the  most  important 
European  nations.  Palmerston,  then  Minister  of 
the  Exchequer,  was  well  known  as  friendly  to  the 
South,  and  even  Gladstone  publicly  expressed  himself 
as  believing  that  the  Disunionists  would  prevail. 
Roebuck  and  Laird  and  many  others  in  the  English 
Parliament  were  savagely  opposed  to  a  continuance 
of  the  American  Union,  and  we  owe  much,  if  not 
immeasurably,  to  our  American  Minister,  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  for  his  courageous  and  manly  de- 
fence of  the  Union,  and  his  defiant  challenge  to  war 
with  the  English  nation,  without  delay,  upon  its 
recognition  of  the  South.  To  John  Bright  more  than 
to  another  in  the  English  Parliament  in  his  vigorous 
defence  of  the  Union,  and  largely,  undoubtedl}',  to 
the  heart-felt  influence  of  the  British  Queen,  do  we 
owe  much  for  the  preservation  of  our  now  glorious 
Union. 

It  is  a  question  yet  to  be  answered  if  Napoleon  had 
not  made  an  understanding  with  the  leaders  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  for  aid  in  establishing  a  Latin 
Monarchy  in  Mexico,  in  case  of  the  recognition  and 
success  of  the  South.  He,  however,  did  not  dare 
alone  to  brave  the  contest,  or  to  involve  France  in  a 
war  which  could  not  be  responded  to  by  its  people, 
already  imbued  by  a  republican  spirit.  Nor  could 
England  involve  herself  when  the  support  of  her  people 
would  not  be  given  for  a  war  in  which  their  sympa- 
thies could  not  be  enlisted,  despite  the  antagonism  of 
the  autocratic  classes — who  to  a  unit  viewed  with 
jealousy  the  growing  importance  of  America, — now 
happily  averted  by  an  overwhelming  power,  which 
cannot  be  diverted. 


A  Sportsman  195 

Times  have  changed  since  the  time  of  George  the 
Fourth  and  Lord  North,  when  representatives  of 
rotten  burroughs  and  kingly  idiocy  could  declare 
war  against  the  wish  of  the  people,  when  foreign 
mercenaries  could  be  hired  to  conquer  freedom.  And 
the  greatest  rebellion  of  history  was  overcome. 

Patrick  Henry  said  in  the  Virginia  Assembly: 
"Three  millions  of  people  armed  in  the  holy  cause 
of  Liberty  are  invulnerable  to  any  foe  the  enemy  can 
send  against  us." 

Yet,  in  the  Civil  War  a  vast  number  larger  were 
engaged  for  independence  from  the  Union.  Yet  the 
liberty  they  fought  for  was  not  obtained,  but  occurred 
in  the  freedom  of  millions  of  slaves.  Happily,  dis- 
sension was  averted,  and  now  will  go  forward  clearly, 
absolutely,  and  distinctly  the  Americanizing  of  the 
world. 

Mention  has  heretofore  been  made  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad,  which  was  proceeding  with  great 
rapidity,  and  more  so  than  any  railroad  ever  before 
built,  accomplishing  in  one  day  during  its  building 
across  the  plains  the  laying  of  ten  miles  of  rails,  and 
the  completion  of  the  railroad  in  its  connection  with 
the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  from  California  was 
made  at  Promontory',  beyond  Ogden,  in  1869. 

I  have  no  doubt  but  Jay  Gould  acquired  over 
twenty-five  millions  of  dollars  first  and  last  from  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad,  largely  increasing  his  for- 
time  at  the  expense  of  the  road,  and  from  his  actions 
the  road  was  mainly  thrown  into  the  hands  of  a  public 
receiver.  He  was  not  interested  in  the  first  building 
of  the  road,  but  its  condition  afterwards  presented  a 
grand  object  for  his  peculiar  manipulations,   which 


196  Reminiscences  of 

appearing  at  first  so  fair  and  promising  led  to  con- 
fidence in  his  management  and  largely  influenced 
its  consequent  bankruptcy;  from  this  it  was  only 
rescued  by  the  drastic  efforts  of  a  new  management. 
From  the  hands  of  the  receiver  it  emerged  in  good 
form,  and  has  now  become,  with  its  outreaching  aux- 
iliaries, one  of  the  most  important,  extensive,  and 
profitable  roads  in  this  country.  As  I  was  somewhat 
familiar  with  the  artful  methods  of  the  crafty  Gotild, 
which  were  well  known,  though  not  to  the  public,  in 
some  particulars  in  connection  with  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad,  I  will  diverge  here  in  references,  especially 
to  the  latter. 

After  the  completion  of  the  road,  the  general  busi- 
ness of  the  countr}'  being  dull,  it  was  not  profitable,  and 
there  were  periods  of  depression  when  the  biirden 
of  the  managers  was  heavy.  The  through  business 
was  limited.  Land  sales  were  slow  and  expenses 
were  heavy.  Land  bonds  had  to  be  issued  predicated 
upon  future  realizations,  as  well  as  income  bonds  to 
be  paid  by  future  profits.  It  was  during  one  of  these 
periods  when  the  heaviest  owners  in  the  road,  loaded 
up  with  securities  which  were  difficult  to  sell  or  bor- 
row upon,  invited  the  aid  of  Mr.  Gould.  This  was 
declined.  The  burdens  became  still  heavier,  and  some 
of  the  largest  owners  refused  to  further  sustain  a  sink- 
ing credit  in  defence  of  their  own  holdings.  But  Mr. 
Oakes  Ames,  and  a  very  few  others  who  believed  in 
the' ultimate  success  of  the  road,  held  on  with  unabated 
confidence,  with  credit,  however,  much  impaired. 

In  this  extremity,  when  again  being  solicited,  Mr. 
Gould  signified  his  willingness  to  come  on  to  Boston 
and   confer  with   the   bodyguard.     The  meeting  ex- 


A  Sportsman  197 

tended  over  several  days  in  the  Sears  Building,  where 
the  offices  of  the  company  then  were.  The  road  was 
then  behind,  with  a  large  floating  debt.  The  con- 
ference resulted  finally  in  a  transfer  of  large  blocks 
of  stock  at  about  fourteen  dollars  per  share  to  Mr. 
Gould  from  the  principal  owners,  besides  large  amounts 
of  land  and  income  bonds  at  large  discount,  and  a 
loan  was  arranged  by  Mr.  Gould  of  ten  millions  of 
dollars  to  take  up  the  floating  debts.  When  the  trade 
was  completed  and  the  stock  and  bonds  were  delivered 
and  the  checks  in  payment,  Mr.  Gould  drew  from  his 
pocket  a  thickish,  good-sized  memorandum  book  and 
asid: 

"Gentlemen,  I  will  draw  your  attention  to  this 
book.  A  year  ago,  when  you  first  invited  me  to  join 
you,  I  sent  out  an  agent  to  Omaha,  who,  with  assist- 
ants, spent  a  number  of  months  in  a  critical  exami- 
nation of  your  road.  In  that  examination  every 
station  on  your  line  was  visited,  and  in  this  book 
you  will  see  a  description  of  the  stations,  with  the 
names  of  every  station  keeper,  and  an  account,  as 
correctly  as  covdd  be  obtained,  of  his  history  before 
and  after  joining  your  service.  You  will  find  here 
an  account  of  his  conduct  since  acting  in  your  em- 
ploy. If  he  is  of  temperate  habits  and  honest:  if  he 
is  a  gambler  or  negligent,  or  identified  in  any  way 
with  suspicious  or  doubtful  characters;  also  an  ac- 
count of  the  local  resources  about  each  station.  In 
fact,  a  description  in  detail  of  the  actual  situation  of 
your  road,  and  the  character  of  the  lands  acquired  by 
the  government  appropriation  and  their  possibilities. 
All  this  information  has  been  acquired  by  my  agents, 
who  in   assumed  characters  of  traders,   land  buyers. 


198  Reminiscences  of 

sportsmen,  and  otherwise  have  studiously  obtained  the 
information.  I  required  this  before  undertaking  so 
large  a  venture  as  I  have  now  made  with  you,  and  I 
wish  to  assure  you  of  my  belief  that  you  have  an  im- 
mensely valuable  property,  and  that  I  believe  the 
period  is  not  far  distant  when  you  will  commence 
dividends,  which  will  be  fairly  earned  by  the  legitimate 
business  which  will  come  to  you.  I  will  say  that  I 
shall  not  dispose  of  any  of  my  stock  imtil  it  will  sell 
at  above  par,  and  be  on  a  dividend-paying  basis." 

And  he  did  not.  Business  increased  steadily.  Mr. 
Gould  became  a  director  in  the  company.  Having 
a  large  amount  of  stock  and  bonds,  he  influenced  the 
directors  to  commence  paying  dividends  before  such 
should  have  been  paid  out,  and  fifteen  millions  of  dol- 
lars were  so  paid,  which  should  have  been  retained  as 
an  appropriate  surpkas  for  so  large  a  company.  But 
it  was  Mr.  Gould's  interest  to  have  these  dividends  paid 
to  enhance  the  market  value  of  his  stock  and  securities, 
and  it  is  probable  that  it  did  not  require  very  much 
urging  to  have  the  directors  acquiesce  in  it. 

The  occasion  had  now  arrived  for  Mr.  Gould  to  dis- 
play his  astute  and  complex  system  of  self-improve- 
ment. Mr.  Oakes  Ames  was  dead.  Mr.  Gould  resigned 
as  a  director,  and  Mr.  Sidney  Dillon  was  made  presi- 
dent. Affairs  looked  well  and  dividends  were  paid 
regularly.  The  president  was  always  friendly  with 
Mr.  Gould,  and  when  he  died  he  possessed  a  very  much 
larger  property  than  he  was  credited  to  have  possessed. 
It  was  prudent  for  Mr.  Gould  to  resign  as  a  director 
in  view  of  the  role  he  had  assumed  of  benefactor  of 
the  road  in  giving  buoyancy  to  the  financial  statements 
and  bridging  over  dividend-paying  periods,  when  Uttle 


A  Sportsman  199 

anxiety  existed  with  the  management  regarding  the 
source  of  siipply. 

With  the  growing  importance  of  the  great  national 
highway,  it  should  control  and  own  a  considerable 
number  of  independent  branch  roads  which  had  grown 
into  existence  as  feeders  along  the  route,  and  the 
benevolent  and  philanthropic  Mr.  Gould,  anticipating 
such  a  demand,  commenced  the  acquirement  of  such 
roads,  which  were  duly  turned  over  to  the  Union  Pacific, 
which  was  relieved  from  the  tedious  and  somewhat  per- 
plexing details  of  purchasing,  by  presenting  them  in 
lump  sums  quite  desirable  to  accept  in  view  of  their 
value. 

I  met  one  day  at  the  Windsor  Hotel,  in  New  York, 
ex-Governor  Evans,  who  expressed  his  elation  in  having 
just  disposed  of  the  Denver  and  South  Park  Railroad 
in  Colorado,  to  Mr.  Gould,  and  he  exhibited  to  me  the 
good-sized  certified  check  of  Mr.  Gould  for  the  sum  of 
twenty-four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  just  received 
for  the  sale.  This  railroad  being  soon  afterwards  ac- 
qviired  by  the  Union  Pacific  road,  I  had  the  cviriosity  to 
ascertain  what  was  paid  for  it,  and  learned  that  it  was 
thirty-six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  a  small  matter 
of  twelve  hundred  thousand  dollars  difference.  This 
road  was  afterwards  completely  abandoned  by  the 
Union  Pacific  as  worthless  and  not  worth  keeping 
against  its  bonded  indebtedness,  being  a  long  out-of- 
the-way  road  to  Leadville,  superseded  by  shorter  and 
more  efficient  roads. 

Other  roads  followed  in  sequence  by  the  beneficent 
aid  of  Mr.  Gould,  and  finally  the  Union  Pacific,  with 
a  depleted  treasury,  suspended  its  dividends.  Ere 
this  period  arrived  Mr.  Gould,  having  a  necessity  for 


200  Reminiscences  of 

funds  required  in  another  direction,  disposed  of  his 
stock  and  Union  Pacific  securities,  and  as  the  stock 
toppled  from  its  high  price  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
and  raced  down  toward  zero,  sold  borrowed  stock  to 
an  alarming  degree.  In  this,  however,  he  was  fortunate 
enough  to  save  himself  from  loss  by  re-buying  at  low 
prices  which  enabled  him  to  make  good  deliveries  to  the 
accommodating  lenders. 

In  the  later  sales  of  roads  to  the  Union  Pacific 
Mr.  Gould  had  more  difficulty  in  having  them  ac- 
cepted than  in  the  earlier  sales,  owing  to  an  awakened 
feeling  upon  the  part  of  the  Union  Pacific  directors, 
as  they  viewed  the  depletion  of  their  treasury,  that 
they  were  approaching  the  situation  of  the  cats  who 
appealed  to  the  monkey  in  the  distribution  of  the 
cheese,  who,  scaling  the  weight,  constantly  bit  off 
mouthfuls  to  equalize,  until  the  whole  disappeared. 
Then  Mr.  Gould,  indignant  at  the  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion of  his  advanced  intuitiveness  in  knowing  better 
than  they  what  they  needed,  assumed  the  r61e  of  an 
injured  friend,  whose  necessities  would  require  him 
to  appear  in  self-defence  as  an  opponent  of  their  road, 
and  perhaps  oppose  the  management  of  the  road  so 
tmfortunately  acquired,  which  woiild  perhaps  require 
a  connection  with  a  new  road  to  be  built,  which  might 
to  some  extent  parallel  their  own.  This  Gould  was  a 
great  bluffer,  and  one  effort  in  this  Hne  was  the  loading 
up  of  the  Union  Pacific  with  the  Kansas  Pacific  road, 
which,  with  his  sympathetic  friend,  Russell  Sage,  he 
had  acquired  for  the  benefit  of  the  former.  The  Kan- 
sas Pacific  went  very  hard,  but  by  dint  of  pleading, 
urging,  and  threats,  came  in.  But  when  the  Union 
Pacific   Railroad  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver 


A  Sportsman  201 

those  cold-hearted  managers,  insensible  to  the  bland- 
ishments of  Mr.  Gould,  and  the  record  of  his  devoted 
services  to  the  road,  had  the  ingratitude,  claiming  under 
the  shelter  of  the  law,  to  prosecute  the  friendly  Gould 
and  the  guileless  Sage  for  the  recovery  of  seven  millions 
of  dollars  fraudulently  gained,  but  which  was  never 
recovered. 

Mr.  Gould  received  his  important  start  in  financial 
life  from  his  association  with  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  whose 
remarkable  combination  of  audacity,  buffoonery, 
roguer>',  daring,  and  unscrupulousness  after  he  had 
stolen  the  management  of  the  Erie  Railroad  from 
his  patron,  the  veteran  Daniel  Drew,  commended 
him  to  Mr.  Gould.  Fisk,  after  the  execution  of  his 
gigantic  fraud  and  perfidious  robbery  of  the  Erie 
directory  from  the  confiding  Drew,  required  the  pecu- 
liar talents  which  Gould  possessed.  The  glaring, 
shameless,  and  ridiculous  act  of  one  like  Fisk,  without 
personal  means,  striding  as  he  did  into  the  control 
of  an  extensive  railroad,  obtained  by  the  fraudulent 
use  of  voting  proxies  obtained  with  the  money  of 
Daniel  Drew,  paralyzed  the  street  and  outraged  all 
sense  of  law  and  order. 

A  recitation  of  the  means  employed  is  unnecessary 
here,  and  has  been  sufficiently  ventilated.  Gould, 
with  all  his  craftiness  and  daring,  would  never  have 
attempted  the  assassination  of  rights  which  Fisk  did. 
But  he  could,  with  a  master  hand,  loot  the  dazzUng 
wealth  displayed  and  hold  the  mock  Duke  on  his 
stolen  throne.  This  he  did  long  enough  to  stuff  his 
p)ockets  full.  Then,  with  gracious  confession  of  wrong, 
he  made  restitution  of  settings  from  which  the 
gems    were   stripped,   retaining    the   values,    and   in 


202  Reminiscences  of 

extremity   fled  before  the   old    Commodore     Vander- 
bilt. 

I  knew  both  Fisk  and  Gould  somewhat  well,  and 
many  a  cigar  I  have  smoked  with  Fisk  before  he  be- 
came notorious,  when  he  was  an  employee  in  Boston 
with  a  mercantile  firm,  of  which  he  afterwards  became 
a  member  but  was  dropped  for  his  conspicuous  for- 
wardness. Not  now,  for  I  have  diverged  too  long,  but 
later  on  I  may  relate  an  incident  of  peculiar  interest 
in  the  life  of  Mr.  Gould  not  known,  when  he  more  than 
found  his  match  in  C.  P.  Huntington,  his  superior  in 
patience  and  astuteness.  In  this  case  Gould  held  the 
superior  hand,  but  threw  it  down  in  complete  surrender. 
This  after  a  three  days'  interview  in  St.  Louis. 


OF  the  fviture  of  Q>lorado  one  may  be  well  assured 
with  its  agricultural  values  exceeding  its  miner- 
als ;  its  inexhaustible  mines,  which  have  already  yielded 
a  billion  of  dollars ;  with  its  coal  deposits  equalling  those 
of  any  other  State,  though  not  yet  producing  one  tenth 
of  the  product  of  Pennsylvania;  and  its  facilities  for 
sustaining  more  than  twenty  times  the  present  popu- 
lation. Can  one  doubt  the  future?  What  shall  be 
said  of  very  many  more  areas  of  similar  value  in  the 
Union  ?  What  is  to  be  the  future  of  the  great  Ameri- 
can Republic?  What  will  be  the  result  of  many  hun- 
dreds of  millions,  as  comparatively  soon  there  are  to  be 
on  the  North  American  continent  ? 

There  can  be  no  retrogression.  The  phantom  of 
the  Yellow  Peril  unfurled  by  the  Muscovite  to  enlist 
sympathy  for  his  aggressiveness  in  the  East,  which  has 
met  with  disaster,  fails  to  alarm  the  American  people. 


A  Sportsman  203 

The  advance  of  the  Japanese  in  intelligence  and 
comprehensiveness  does  not  exhibit  any  weakness, 
and  will  have  an  important  effect  on  the  Celestial 
Empire,  which,  however  slow  in  progress,  will  inevi- 
tably advance.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  correctly 
the  results  of  the  Eastern  war,  which  may  be  of  far 
more  worldly  importance  than  now  estimated,  and 
may  ultimately  change  the  conditions  of  some  Evu-o- 
pean  nations,  and  possibly  affect  our  own. 

Upon  Prof.  Simonin's  return  to  Europe  he  pub- 
lished a  series  of  letters  upon  Colorado,  which  had 
extensive  circulation  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes. 
One  incident  by  him  mentioned  reminds  me  of  a  din- 
ner given  us  in  Denver  before  his  departure,  com- 
posed of  a  dozen  or  fifteen,  in  which  I  appeared  in 
his  account,  incorrectly,  as  an  affluent  miner,  who  dis- 
tributed gold  nuggets  for  dessert.  This  was  a  mistake, 
the  facts  being  that  I,  having  purchased  half  a  saucer 
full  of  moderate-sized  gold  nuggets  for  a  few  hundred 
dollars,  exhibited  them  at  the  termination  of  the  repast, 
while  we  were  conversing  over  our  cigars.  Occupied 
in  conversation,  I  did  not  observe  the  stupid  waiter 
had  taken  the  saucer  around  the  table,  with  an  intima- 
tion for  self -helping,  and  before  I  discovered  this  feat- 
ure, the  circuit  of  the  table  had  about  been  made,  and 
each  diner  had  taken  a  selection  and  were  making  ap- 
preciative comments.  It  was  too  late  to  make  a  cor- 
rection without  an  awkwardness,  and  so  I  let  it  pass.  I 
did,  however,  feel  like  poking  the  ribs  of  a  fat  man 
opposite,  who,  instead  of  taking  a  small  nugget  as  the 
others  did,  appropriated  a  full  ounce  specimen  worth 
at  least  twenty  dollars,  with  the  remark  that  he  should 
give   it   to   his   wife   as   a   souvenir.     This  was  very 


204  Reminiscences  of 

pleasant  for  his  social  advantage,  and  gave  me  a  last- 
ing souvenir  of  his  memory. 

I  have  never  had  any  political  aspirations,  and 
never  held  any  public  official  position  except  that 
given  me  by  the  United  States  Secretary  of  State,  Wil- 
liam H.  Seward,  in  1867,  as  commissioner  to  repre- 
sent Colorado  that  year  at  the  World's  Exposition  at 
Paris.  Though  several  opportunities  in  my  life  have 
occurred  when  I  could  have  gained  without  much 
exertion  some  official  positions,  I  have  given  them  no 
attention,  as  I  have  observed  that  once  engaged  in 
political  affairs  one  is  apt  to  be  led  on  and  become  in- 
volved in  the  consequent  following,  often  to  experience 
many  perplexities  and  disappointments,  as  instanced 
in  the  cases  of  so  many,  as  I  have  witnessed. 

I  have  not  declined  such  from  possible  interfer- 
ence with  business  pursuits — as  I  have  always  made 
such  a  secondary  matter — but  mainly  from  a  fear 
that  in  politics  I  should  lose  largely  my  independ- 
ence, and  probably  my  ability  to  prosecute  those 
out-of-door  pursuits  toward  which  I  am  so  inclined. 
I  often  think,  however,  when  I  witness  the  exertions 
made  by  those  politically  inclined  for  official  positions, 
of  the  opportunity  which  offered  itself  to  me  in  Colo- 
rado for  obtaining  a  prominent  political  position  which 
seemed  of  easy  conquest.  At  that  time  Congress  had 
passed,  as  an  apparently  political  necessity,  an  en- 
abling act  by  which  the  Territories  of  Colorado  and 
Nevada  could  be  admitted  into  the  Union  and  send 
their  senators  and  representatives.  The  population 
of  the  two  Territories  was  limited  and  insufficient  under 
the  existing  law  for  either  of  the  two  to  gain  State- 
hood.     But  Congress   passed  a  special   enabling   act 


A  Sportsman  205 

with  the  expectancy  of  gaining  new  senators  and 
representatives,  and  it  was  put  to  vote  in  both  Terri- 
tories. Nevada  voted  for  and  accepted  admission, 
while  Colorado  declined. 

At  the  time  I  was  in  Colorado,  the  subject  was  un- 
der consideration  and  there  were  several  congres- 
sional aspirants  strongly  favoring  the  admission  of 
the  Te^ritor}^  who  were  not  particularly  popular  with 
the  people.  I  had  never  given  any  expression  of  my 
political  tendencies,  and  was  much  surprised  to  find 
myself  referred  to  as  a  probable  United  States  senator 
in  case  of  Colorado's  admission,  and  was  called  upon 
by  the  representatives  of  both  the  Republican  and 
Democratic  parties.  First  by  old  Commodore  Decatur, 
so-called,  the  leader  in  Republican  circles,  and  some 
of  his  friends,  with  whom  I  had  an  extended  confer- 
ence, and  from  whom  I  had  a  tender  of  the  nomination 
by  the  party  for  United  States  senator  for  election  by 
the  new  State  representatives,  which  would  come  in 
upon  an  affirmative  vote  of  the  people  for  admission. 
A  moderate  amount  of  money  would  be  required  for 
the  expenses  of  canvassing  and  elections.  I  gave  the 
parties  respectful  consideration,  but  most  positively 
declined  the  proposed  honor,  as  I  had  no  political 
aspirations  whatever,  and  in  no  way  could  I  accept  any 
political  position. 

It  was  rather  difficult  to  satisfy  my  visitors  of  the 
sincerity  of  my  conclusions.  They  left  me  after  the 
evening's  conference  with  the  expressed  opinion  that 
I  might  perhaps  change  my  views  after  more  con- 
sideration. The  following  day  I  was  called  upon  by 
the  prominent  Republican  politician  who  expected, 
in  case  of  the  admission  of  Colorado,  to  be  my  Sena- 


2o6  Reminiscences  of 

torial  confrere,  who  made  strenuous  exertions  for 
me  to  change  my  views  and  accept  the  nomination, 
which  he  was  entirely  confident  would  cause  the  ad- 
mission of  the  Territory  to  Statehood,  and  assuredly 
occasion  our  election.  But  I  was  entirely  firm  in 
my  resolution,  and  have  never  had  any  occasion  to 
regret  it. 

When  the  election  came  the  acceptance  by  the 
people  of  the  opportunity  for  admission  was  declined 
by  a  very  small  majority,  so  small  that  it  could  easily 
have  been  overcome  by  a  very  moderate  effort,  and 
Colorado  would  have  become  a  State  several  years 
earlier  than  it  did. 

While  Nevada  to  this  day  has  but  very  slightly  in- 
creased its  population  from  about  sixty  thousand, 
existing  at  the  time  of  its  admission  as  a  State,  Col- 
orado has  nearly  twenty  times  the  population  it  had 
in  1867,  and  is  increasing  in  all  respects  in  a  remark- 
able manner. 

My  stay  in  Paris  while  Commissioner  from  Col- 
orado was  one  I  shall  always  remember  as  of  ex- 
ceptional interest;  and,  although  I  have  been  there  a 
number  of  times  since,  I  have  never  found  it  so  at- 
tractive as  it  seemed  to  me  during  the  great  fair, 
when  it  was  thronged  with  so  many  visitors  from 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  especially  by  so  many 
Americans  whom  I  became  acquainted  with.  Lately 
I  visited  the  great  World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis  with 
a  party  of  friends,  and  in  expenditure  and  exten- 
siveness  it  surpasses  any  before  given.  When  I  was  there, 
however,  in  June  last,  it  was  still  in  a  considerable 
state  of  unpreparedness,  but  I  found  it  of  great  interest. 
The  attractions  were  many  and  of  peculiar  attractive- 


I 


A  Sportsman  207 

ness.  The  area  occupied,  being  very  extensive,  re- 
quired a  good  deal  of  walking  to  reach  the  various 
departments.  It  is  easy  to  criticise,  and  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  do  so  relative  to  the  general  exhibit,  which 
undoubtedly  exceeds  any  other  ever  given  in  many 
respects;  but,  having  seen  quite  a  number  of  world's 
fairs,  I  am  more  impressed  than  ever  with  the  plan 
followed  in  1867  in  Paris,  of  having  a  large  oval  build- 
ing— which  in  that  case  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  circumference,  built  of  iron  and  glass,  which  con- 
tained the  principal  exhibits  of  all  nations — so  that  one 
could  pass  continuously  from  one  nationality  to  an- 
other in  rotation,  upon  the  class  of  exhibits  one 
wished  to  follow,  without  the  necessity  of  traversing 
long  intervening  spaces,  over  roads  and  pathways, 
saving  loss  of  time  and  fatigue.  The  machinery  and 
heavy  wares  could  then  be  relegated  to  appropriate 
armexes,  where  they  could  be  seen  by  those  specially 
interested  in  such,  which  do  not  appeal  to  all  visitors. 

The  array  of  beautiful  buildings  of  perfect  outline 
at  the  St.  Louis  Fair  were  of  striking  architectural 
perfection,  and  occasion  regret  to  think  they  were 
all  demolished  at  the  end  of  the  fair. 

At  a  dinner  which  I  attended,  given  in  London  by 
Mr.  Robert  Bowles,  an  American  banker,  to  Henry  M. 
Stanley,  the  African  explorer,  upon  his  return  after 
finding  Dr.  Livingstone,  I  was  much  interested  during 
the  evening's  conversation  by  Mr.  Stanley's  refer- 
ences to  his  explorations,  which  indicated  his  remark- 
able character  as  one  of  indomitable  determination 
and  courage.  He  remarked  to  me  if  I  remembered 
of  ever  having  met  him  before,  to  which  I  answered 
in  the  negative ;  to  which  he  said  that  we  met  in  Central 


2o8  Reminiscences  of 

City,  Colorado,  in  1867,  when  he  reported  for  the  Miners' 
Register,  a  paper  of  that  town,  my  lecture  on  the  Paris 
Exposition,  and  obtained  from  me  some  notes  concern- 
ing it.  This  had  entirely  escaped  my  memory  until 
he  reminded  me  of  it,  and  though  I  had  no  recollection 
of  his  name  I  remembered  the  incident.  My  name, 
then  of  slight  local  import,  was  in  contrast  with  his 
name,  unknown  to  the  world-prominence  it  was  soon 
to  attain. 

Stanley  was  one  of  those  explorers  who  was  ex- 
ceptional among  those  of  his  class,  in  realizing  a 
large  fortune,  in  contrast  with  Mungo  Park,  Dr. 
Livingstone,  Du  Chaillu,  and  others  who  were  prom- 
inent in  their  explorations  of  the  Dark  Continent. 
As  a  lecturer  he  was  not  a  prominent  success,  but 
his  efforts  in  Africa  led  to  a  complete  revolution  in 
the  affairs  of  that  continent,  and  a  parcelling  out  of 
its  districts  among  the  European  nations,  and  a  far- 
reaching  result,  comparable  with  that  of  the  Ameri- 
can continent  from  the  discovery  of  Christopher 
Columbus. 

In  one  of  my  many  trips  to  London  I  met  my  old 
friend  Samuel  Ward,  known  so  well  among  his  friends 
in  England  as  "Uncle  Sam,"  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Julia 
Ward  Howe,  and  the  uncle  of  Marion  Crawford,  the 
novelist.  Mr.  Ward  was  prominent  in  his  own  country 
some  years  ago  for  his  literary  articles,  and  as  the 
author  of  a  book  of  pleasant  poems,  and  particularly 
as  a  bon  vivant,  and  the  recipes  of  his  dishes  and 
punches  are  still  in  vogue.  As  a  lobbyist  in  Washing- 
ton he  was  at  one  time  the  most  influential  in  directing 
the  policy  of  measures  in  Congress,  which  are  even 
now  more  directed  at  times  by  outside  influences  than 
would  indicate  the  spontaneity  of  our'representatives. 


A  Sportsman  209 

Probably  no  American  in  private  life  was  more 
popular  or  better  known  in  London  than  "Uncle 
Sam,"  and  I  have  spent  many  pleasant  hours  with 
him  in  his  apartments  on  Piccadilly,  furnished  and  left 
by  the  Duke  of  Portland  before  he  inherited  his  pres- 
ent rank.  The  attachment  of  Portland  for  "Uncle 
Sam"  was  only  exceeded  by  the  affectionate  regard 
of  Lord  Rosebery,  who  would  monopolize,  as  far 
as  he  could,  the  association  of  "Uncle  Sam"  with 
himself,  and  who  had  in  his  several  residences  in 
country  and  town,  apartments  specially  designated 
with  the  name  of  Samuel  Ward. 

"Here,"  said  "Uncle  Sam,"  pointing  to  his  writing 
table  one  day,  "is  where  Marion  Crawford  wrote 
his  first  book,  of  Mr.  Isaacs.  He  had  told  me  about 
his  experiences  in  India,  and  I  was  very  much  in- 
terested in  his  accoimt  of  the  character  he  met  repre- 
sented in  his  book  of  Mr.  Isaacs,  and  I  suggested 
to  him  that  he  should  write  a  book  about  him,  and 
that  he  should  commence  now;  whereupon  he  sat 
himself  down  at  the  table  and  started  in,  and  be- 
came so  much  interested  in  his  work  that  he  never 
quit  excepting  to  eat  and  sleep  and  take  a  little  exer- 
cise, and  in  about  a  week  completed  it  and  sent  it  to 
print." 

One  driving  with  "Uncle  Sam"  at  the  fashionable 
hour  in  Hyde  Park  would  readily  perceive  the  vm- 
limited  attentions  he  would  receive,  and  the  appar- 
ent rivalry'  existing  for  recognition  from  this  placid 
gentleman  of  attractive  presence.  One  night  I  was 
with  him  in  a  stage  box  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre, 
which  theatre  he  remarked  he  had  not  visited  for 
many  years,  since  he  was  a  young  lad  pursuing  a  line 


2IO  Reminiscences  of 

of  study  in  London,  and  we  came  to  witness  a  spec- 
tacular play  called  America.  Before  long  after  the 
commencement  the  Prince  of  Wales  came  in  with 
a  party  of  men,  occupying  the  royal  box  opposite. 
Soon  an  equerry  of  the  Prince  came  over  and  re- 
quested the  company  of  Mr.  Ward  in  the  royal  box. 
When  he  returned  some  time  after,  I  asked  him  if 
there  was  anything  unusual,  which  he  answered 
smiling,  saying,  nothing  in  particular,  excepting 
that  the  Prince  had  a  garden  party  coming  off  the 
following  afternoon  at  Marlborough  House,  to  which 
he  had  asked  some  American  visitors,  among  whom 
was  a  charming  young  Miss  C,  to  whom  he  asked  of 
Mr.  Ward  to  give  some  attention. 

Poor  "Uncle  Sam"  died  a  few  years  after  on  the 
Mediterranean,  on  his  way  back  from  Italy,  where  he 
had  gone  to  visit  his  sister. 

When  I  last  left  him  he  was  writing  his  remi- 
niscences, which  probably  he  never  completed.  These 
would  be  of  great  interest,  and  possibly  may  have 
been  completed,  and  may  appear  at  some  later  period. 


IN  London — ^and  I  am  referring  to  the  old  city 
limits  and  not  the  expanse  included  in  the  new 
growth  of  surprising  extent— there  are  several  asso- 
ciations of  ancient  date  known  as  guilds,  survivors 
of  former  useful  purposes  in  promoting  the  interests 
of  certain  trades,  known  as  the  tailors,  bakers,  skin- 
ners, fish  mongers,  brewers,  etc.,  the  skinners  being 
those  who  dealt  in  hides. 

These  originally  were  of  modest  pretensions,  de- 
signed to  protect  by  mutual  support  particular  trades. 


A  Sportsman  2 1 1 

These  purposes  have  passed  away  by  the  extended 
grow'th  of  the  city  and  its  surroundings,  but  the  city 
charters  of  the  associations  are  still  in  existence,  while 
the  trade  members  gradually  fell  out  by  deaths,  and 
others  foreign  to  the  various  trades  were  elected  in 
place,  so  that  in  reality  none  of  the  trades  are  repre- 
sented in  membership,  and  one  going  to  the  dinners  of 
the  tailors  or  the  bakers  would  look  in  vain  for  any 
one  who  had  ever  cut  a  coat  or  baked  a  loaf. 

The  present  members  of  the  guilds  are  a  jolly  lot 
of  convivial  souls,  who  elect  their  successors  from 
among  their  friends,  prominent  business  or  profes- 
sional city  men,  who  in  turn  continue  to  elect  a  similar 
class.  The  basic  bond  of  union  is  the  large  fund 
existing  to  the  credit  of  the  guild,  which  in  some 
instances  is  very  large,  as  in  the  instance  of  the  Tailors' 
Guild,  amounting  to  over  a  million  pounds  sterling, 
aggregated  by  many  years'  increase  of  values  from  city 
property  holdings.  The  annual  incomes,  therefore, 
of  some  of  the  guilds  are  very  large,  requiring  con- 
siderable ingenuity  upon  the  part  of  the  managers  in 
the  methods  to  be  pursued  in  dispensing  the  funds  for 
the  most  complete  satisfaction  of  the  members. 

A  considerable  fondness  is  indicated  for  monthly 
banquets  and  weekly  lunch  meetings  of  committees  to 
consider  important  subjects  affecting  the  interests  of 
the  Guilds,  which  many  presume  to  be  concerning  the 
character  of  the  wines  to  be  put  in  cellar  in  place  of 
those  which  have  been  retired  at  previous  meetings, 
and  as  to  the  details  of  the  succeeding  banquets.  The 
banquets  are  of  the  most  elaborate  and  expensive  char- 
acter, at  least  those  of  the  tailors  and  bakers.  These  I 
have  frequently  attended,  by  invitation  of  members,  as 


212  Reminiscences  of 

members  have  the  privilege  of  inviting  a  friend  or  two 
to  the  monthly  banquets,  but  not  to  the  weekly  lunch 
committee  meetings,  where  the  business  is  too  serious  to 
admit  of  intrusion,  as  may  be  well  understood  in  view 
of  the  difficulty  which  exists  among  the  opulent  guilds 
in  disposing  of  sufficient  funds  to  equal  the  income. 
In  vain  are  the  markets  sought  over  for  the  most  ex- 
pensive viands.  Fruitless  are  the  efforts  to  swell  the 
cost  amount  equal  to  the  sum  appropriated.  Clear 
green  turtle  soup  from  Birch's  or  the  Ship  and  Turtle 
at  four  shillings  a  plate,  with  squares  of  green  turtle 
fat  as  large  as  a  fat  man's  two  thumbs,  are  a  bagatelle. 
Johnny  Dorees  from  the  North  Sea,  at  seven  shillings  a 
pound,  help  some.  Sole  slips  and  spring  lambs  are  of 
slight  value,  but  helped  on  by  Delaware  canvas-backs, 
golden  pheasants,  and  Norway  woodcocks.  A  confu- 
sion of  sweets  count  something.  The  Hungarian  band 
is  an  element  of  value.  Sims  Reeves,  the  vocalist,  and 
other  eminent  artists,  at  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  pounds 
each,  to  appear  between  courses  when  the  dinner  is 
well  on,  cannot  be  overlooked,  but  still  a  fainting  hiatus 
of  apprehensiveness  creeps  on  when  the  summing-up 
still  shows  a  surplus.  A  happy  thought,  as  a  glimmer 
of  sunshine  in  a  dark  day,  flashes  in.  The  box  of 
chocolates  and  a  silver  pencil  given  each  guest  at  the 
last  banquet  may  be  given  over  for  a  sixteen-bladed 
pearl -handled  jack-knife,  with  a  corkscrew  attachment 
from  Sheffield,  which  will  just  bridge  over  the  difficulty. 
A  suggestive  mind,  that  of  Alderman  Brown,  who 
will  sometime  be  Lord  Mayor  if  he  lives,  as  all  City 
aldermen  become  Lord  Mayors  in  rotation,  if  they 
are  wealthy  enough  to  stand  it,  and  if  not,  fall  out 
for  a  succeeding  one.     An  adjournment  will  now  take 


A  Sportsman  213 

place,  after  a  few  bottles  of  old  port  of  the  comet  year 
from  our  owti  cellar. 

The  wine  cellars  of  the  guilds  are  something  im- 
portant, and  to  refer  to  with  admiration  as  containing 
the  choicest  liquors  and  wines  to  be  obtained,  and  a 
lay-down  of  new  stock  occurs  as  fast  as  any  old  stock 
is  drawn  upon,  and  any  member  or  guest  at  the  ban- 
quets may  freely  call  without  limit  for  the  most  select 
wines  on  the  menu.  All  goes  merrily,  and  the  ban- 
quet draws  on. 

The  Worthy  Warden,  arrayed  in  his  gown  of  cere- 
mony, adorned  with  chain  and  medal  of  insignia,  leads 
on,  preceded  by  ushers  with  staffs,  and  the  diners  fol- 
low in  proper  order  to  the  tables,  garnished  with 
flowers  and  precious  silverware  accumulated  in  past 
years.  Nearly  all  express  their  preference  for  the 
clear  green  turtle  soup  with  slabs  of  turtle  fat,  a  spe- 
cialty of  renown  with  the  guilds;  and  express  not  too 
much  hilarity  at  this  moment,  in  memory  of  the  inci- 
dent illustrated  in  an  old  number  of  Punch,  where  an 
aldermanic  epicure,  with  portly  nose,  and  napkin  under 
chin  tucked,  turns  sadly  with  repressed  severity  upon 
his  adjoining  companion  with  the  request  that  he  will 
refrain  from  further  jokes  for  a  while,  as  he  had  already 
swallowed  two  morsels  of  green  fat  without  tasting. 

Will  have  Chambertin  of  1867  or  Clos  Vogeout  of 
'88?  No,  thanks,  shall  take  Scotch  and  soda,  but  sug- 
gest you  tr>'  the  old  port  of  the  comet  year  of  1872. 
Money  can't  buy  it. 

Hark!  the  alcove  curtain  parts,  and  a  song  from  the 
lovely  lass  of  the  Highlands. 

Later  on,  the  loving  cup  of  gallon  dimension  and 
double  handled  goes  around,  but  with  no  interruption 


214  Reminiscences  of 

of  the  feast.  The  one  beside  you,  rising  in  place,  turns 
away  from  you  toward  the  one  beyond  him,  receiving  the 
cup,  from  which  he  sips  and  turns  facing  you  smoothing 
over  the  cup  edge  with  his  napkin;  you,  standing,  re- 
ceive it  and  drink  from,  and  in  the  same  manner  pass 
it  on  to  your  neighbor.  The  time  has  arrived  for 
coffee  and  cigars,  and  the  regular  toasts  are  given  in 
order : 

To  Her  Majesty  the  Queen. 

To  the  Army. 

To  the  Navy. 

To  distinguished  guests. 

To  foreign  visitors. 

To  municipal  magnates  and  others. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  occasions  in  Jubilee  year 
that  I  was  pulled  into  an  anxious  box,  so  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly  that  I  made  a  very  awkward  appearance. 
The  one  who  was  to  respond  to  the  toast  of  foreign 
visitors  was  unaccountably  absent,  and  a  pause  oc- 
curred until  the  fact  was  evinced.  The  Worthy  War- 
den, whose  guest  I  was,  and  whom  I  had  supposed  a 
friend  of  mine,  abruptly  announced  in  calling  my  name 
that  I  would  respond  to  the  toast  in  the  absence  of  the 
first  party.  It  was  a  staggering  blow,  for  which  I  was 
in  no  way  prepared,  and  if  I  had  received  any  intima- 
tion of  it,  I  was  hardly  in  the  condition  for  a  mental 
exertion;  for  an  early  lunch  and  a  delayed  dinner  had 
given  an  edge  to  my  appetite  difficult  to  hold,  and  I 
had  eaten  far  more  than  was  my  usual  habit  and,  al- 
though moderately  abstemious  in  drinking,  some  mis- 
guided friends  about  me,  with  mistaken  hospitality, 
had  taken  advantage  of  my  obliging  disposition  to  ply 
me  with  various  creations  of  which  I  had  been  ignorant 


A  Sportsman  215 

before.  It  was  clear  to  my  own  consciousness  that  I 
was  better  fitted  to  grace  a  cannibal  barbecue  than  to 
give  entertainment  to  intelligent  beings  from  whom 
appetite  had  flown. 

Thinking  of  the  advice  given  by  one  counsel  to 
another,  in  the  absence  of  favorable  evidence  to 
give  a  general  denial  of  everything,  I  entered  my  pro- 
test at  the  assurance  of  the  Worthy  Warden  in  desig- 
nating me  as  a  foreigner  and  qualified  as  such  to 
respond  to  the  toast :  Was  I  not  at  home  among  my 
own  race,  speaking  the  same  language  and  thrilled  with 
the  same  pride  and  enthusiasm  which  they  all  experi- 
enced in  this  Jubilee  year  in  the  reigning  of  the  most 
amiable  and  lovable  and  wise  sovereign  that  ever 
graced  a  throne? 

Did  not  my  heart  swell  with  the  emotions  kindred 
to  their  own  in  contemplation  of  their  magnificent 
army  and  navy,  and  the  advance  of  civilization  the 
world  over  upon  the  approach  of  their  unifying  force 
power  ? 

Did  I  not  find  a  sympathetic  and  hearty  welcome 
here,  and  a  hospitable  greeting  which  no  one  can  so 
fully  experience  and  enjoy  as  he  who  returns  after  a 
long  absence  to  his  old  home? 

Time,  with  its  unstaying  hand,  will  take  away  those 
living  at  the  time  of  departure,  but  are  not  their  de- 
scendants of  the  same  blood  and  thought  and  feeling? 
and  when  I  look  around  upon  your  faces  here,  and  note 
the  kind  expression  of  eye  and  countenance,  I  am 
tempted  to  believe  that  you  may  accept  me  as  one  of 
you,  though  I  have  been  away  for  two  centuries  and  a 
half. 

It    was    long    ago    when    my    English    ancestors 


2i6  Reminiscences  of 

departed  from  these  shores  for  the  distant  land  of  Amer- 
ica, where  in  New  England  for  seven  generations,  with 
intermarriage  with  their  own  class,  they  lived  on,  and  I 
am,  so  far  as  I  know,  of  the  first  to  return  home  again. 
I  was  not  consulted  as  to  the  place  of  my  birth,  and  if 
I  had  been  I  was  too  young  to  have  had  voice;  and 
what  mattered  it,  if  by  your  acquiescence  I  have  not 
lost  my  birthright,  and  you  do  not  deprive  me  of  the 
memories  which  cluster  about  the  land  of  my  origin  ? 

A  few  centuries  ago  your  ancestors  and  mine  fought 
out  together  for  the  great  rights  of  liberty  in  advance 
of  the  world  and  established  the  bulwark  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  to  them  mutually  belonged  the  renown  of 
our  illustrious  men  whose  bones  are  interred  in  your 
sacred  temples  of  sepulture. 

You  will  not  deny  from  me  a  share  of  the  loyalty 
you  all  feel,  or  the  wholesome  pride  and  emotion  you 
experience  when  passing  through  the  immuring  walls 
of  the  Abbey,  or  contemplating  on  the  shore  of  the 
Avon  the  resting-place  of  the  remains  of  the  gentle 
bard  whose  imprint  on  the  face  of  time  is  everlasting. 

Great  and  glorious  is  the  record  of  your  race,  and 
the  illustrations  of  progress  given  by  your  ancestors  in 
the  expanse  of  other  climes.  It  is,  however,  but  the 
exemplification  of  the  sturdy,  inborn  merit  inherited 
from  the  motherland.  Not  too  far  away  are  they 
from  their  old  home  to  be  reached  by  the  friendly  hand 
of  recognition,  though  rolling  seas  intervene,  nor  can 
they  be  stayed  in  their  courage  and  indomitable  energy 
and  intelligent  perceptiveness  until  the  whole  world 
shall  yield  to  their  progress  and  accept  the  domination 
of  our  mother  tongue. 
^      Then,  when  one  shall  come  again  as  I  have  from 


A  Sportsman  2 1 7 

a  distant  part,  descended  from  your  own,  returning  to 
mingle  among  those  whose  sympathies  and  affections 
and  pride  are  as  of  his  own,  and  may,  upon  an  occasion 
similar  to  this,  be  given  the  honor  of  being  called  as  the 
representative  of  a  foreign  element,  may  you  not  say, 
"Not  so;  he  is  our  kinsman?" 


GEORGE  GROSSMITH,  an  actor  of  considerable 
celebrity  in  England  and  of  some  in  this  country, 
■was  at  one  time  playing  an  engagement  at  the  Savoy 
Theatre  in  Gilbert  &  Sullivan's  play  The  Yeomen  of 
the  Guard,  and  had  appeared  in  the  first  plays,  and  on 
in  succession  in  important  parts  of  the  plaj^s  of  the 
mentioned  composers,  and  with  remarkable  success, 
and  from  which  the  authors  had  gained  much  advan- 
tage. He  was  of  slight  form,  and,  although  not  par- 
ticularly gifted  in  voice,  was  very  correct  and  clever 
in  acting,  and  withal  of  modest  demeanor  and  sterling 
qualities.  He  was  also  an  author,  and  in  extemporane- 
ous musical  composition  and  song,  a  great  favorite. 
With  my  wife  I  attended  the  play  of  the  Yeomen  of  the 
Guard,  in  which  Grossmith  appeared  as  Jack,  a  half- 
brained  wandering  street  minstrel,  accompanied  by 
Geraldine  Ulmer,  a  Charlestown  (Mass.)  girl  of  the 
same  class.  Their  wandering  about  with  songs  and 
dances  added  much  to  the  entertainment,  and  I  fol- 
lowed them  with  more  interest  than  given  to  any  other 
party.  Jack,  in  love  with  his  companion,  is  finally 
thrown  over  by  her  for  one  more  to  her  liking,  and 
falls  over  in  the  end,  dispirited  and  crushed. 

Some  days  after,  my  wife  and  I  were  invited  to  dine 
with  some  friends  who  had  tickets  for  the  theatre,  and 


2i8  Reminiscences  of 

the  play  to  which  we  were  invited  was  the  Yeomen  of 
the  Guard,  and  on  the  second  time  I  was  more  inter- 
ested in  Grossmith's  acting  than  before.  A  week  or 
two  after  we  were  again  invited  to  a  dinner  with  theatre 
after,  and  to  our  surprise  the  play  was  again  the  Yeomen 
of  the  Gurad.  I  was  more  pleased  than  ever  with  Gros- 
smith's faithful  rendering,  and  after  reaching  home  at 
the  hotel  we  were  staying  at,  I  said  to  my  wife,  "Was 
not  that  acting  fine  of  Grossmith  ? "  in  which  she  agreed, 
and  I  sat  down,  upon  the  impulse,  and  wrote  him  a  let- 
ter expressing  my  admiration.  This,  as  I  can  remem- 
ber, was  something  as  follows : 

Dear  Mr.  Grossmith: 

By  singTilar  coincidence  of  events,  I  have  witnessed  three 
times  with  my  wife  your  faithful  acting  in  the  Yeotnan  of  the 
Guard;  and,  while  I  am  not  partial  to  witnessing  a  repetition  of 
plays  I  have  freshly  seen  before,  I  will  confess  to  you  that  I  am 
sure  I  have  experienced  more  satisfaction  from  seeing  your 
second  and  third  appearance,  than  from  the  first.  It  is  easy  to 
play  the  fool  when  the  character  is  a  natural  gift,  but  when  a 
man  of  sense  plays  the  fool  as  well  as  you  do,  it  has  called  for 
a  wit  and  cleverness  which  I  admire,  and  I  express  it.  I  am  a 
stranger  to  you,  and  you  may  not  care  for  this,  but  you  cannot 
deny  me  the  satisfaction  I  give  myself  in  writing  you  as  I  do, 
and  let  it  pass. 

Very  trvily  yours, 

I  went  to  the  seashore  the  following  day  for  a  week, 
and  the  matter  passed  from  my  mind.  Upon  my  re- 
turn to  my  hotel  I  found  among  some  letters  waiting 
my  return  one  from  Mr.  Grossmith,  saying: 

Dear  Sir: 

But  I  do  care  for  your  letter,  more  perhaps  than  you  can 
believe,  for  I    received  it  at  a  moment  when  I  was  unusually 


A  Sportsman  219 

depressed  from  an  incident  which  had  occurred,  and  I  carried  it 
to  my  wife  and  said:  "Is  this  not  fine?  it  encourages  me  "  I 
thank  you  from  my  heart,  and  remain 

Sincerely  yours, 

George  Grossmith. 

Some  weeks  afterwards  my  wife  and  I  were  invited 
to  dine  in  Portland  Place,  by  some  English  intimate 
friends  of  ours,  and  at  dinner  we  were  told  that  our 
entertainers  were  to  give  at  midnight  a  musical  party, 
which  would  be  attended  by  about  a  hundred  friends, 
among  whom  would  be  several  artists  of  note,  and  Mr. 
George  Grossmith  was  mentioned  as  one.  I  was  very 
much  amused  at  the  prospect  of  meeting  Mr.  Grossmith 
in  this  manner,  and  told  my  amiable  hostess  of  the 
incidental  correspondence  I  had  with  him,  and  she 
said  she  had  kno-wTi  him  for  years,  would  present 
me  to  him  upon  his  arrival,  and  it  would  be  interesting 
and  amusing.  This  she  did,  introducing  my  wife  also. 
During  the  following  amusements,  Mr.  Grossmith  im- 
provised a  song  with  piano  accompaniment,  in  which 
he  went  over  our  affair,  with  so  many  ludicrous  inter- 
polations, in  which  I  appeared  as  a  North  American 
Indian,  that  we  screamed  with  laughter,  and  one  yovmg 
lady  was  so  amused  that  we  had  to  rest  for  a  while 
upon  her  approach  to  a  hysterical  condition. 

I  am  reminded  here  of  the  elder  Sothem,  the  actor 
whose  part  as  Lord  Dundreary  was  so  amusing,  who 
visited  me  at  the  lake  with  Holland  the  actor  and  two 
other  friends,  perhaps  twenty  years  ago.  Sothem  was 
a  great  joker,  and  put  up  a  good  many,  but  was  rather 
sensitive  when  they  were  put  on  him.  He  wrote  a 
very  amusing  book,  entitled  Birds  of  a  Feather  Flock 
Together.     One  day  Holland  said  to  me : 


220  Reminiscences  of 

"Snr  hasothe  a  new  cravat  pin  which  he  thinks 
unique  in  this  country,  sent  to  him  from  England,  of 
silver  and  gold,  showing  a  fishing  rod  and  line  and  a 
creel.  But  I  have  also  one  sent  to  me  which  Sothem 
does  not  know  of,  and  although  he  is  not  wearing  his 
just  now,  he  had  a  great  deal  to  say  to  us  about  it,  and 
is  very  much  set  up  over  it.  You  take  this  pin  and 
stick  it  on,  and  we  will  hear  what  Sothem  has  to  say 
about  it." 

I  did  so,  coming  in  to  Itinch  with  the  pin,  which 
soon  caught  Sothem 's  eye,  and  with  astonishment  he 
asked  me  where  I  had  obtained  it,  to  which  I  answered, 
carelessly : 

"Yes,  a  rather  pretty  pin.  I  bought  it  at  one  of 
the  country  towns  as  I  came  up  to  camp." 

"Good  heavens,"  said  Sothem,  "what  did  you 
give  for  it?" 

"Well,"  I  answered,  "I  bought  a  dozen  of  them  at 
foiu-  dollars,  they  seemed  so  cheap.  I  thought  they 
would  make  very  good  presents  to  the  guides,  as  they 
are  awfully  fond  of  anything  of  that  kind." 

I  relate  the  following  two  instances  indicating  the 
push  of  two  American  girls  who  came  within  my 
personal  observation,  and  although  not  coming  within 
the  lines  of  sporting  reminiscences,  may  be  of  interest. 
These  incidents  being  of  a  personal  character  will  be 
considered  confidential  by  the  reader,  who,  I  assume, 
will  not  mention  it  unless  it  may  be  to  most  intimate 
friends,  whose  reticence  can  be  relied  upon. 

The  commencement  occurred  in  Boston  before  I 
had  reached  my  majority.  I  had  a  clerk  in  my  em- 
ploy, a  rather  clever  sort  of  fellow  named  Edwards, 
who  occasionally  referred  to  a  flaxen  beauty  at  the 


A  Sportsman  221 

cheap  boarding-house  where  he  hved,  whom  he  ac- 
counted to  be  a  most  extraordinary  beauty  of  much 
spirit  and  wit,  and  who  he  predicted  woxild  yet  have 
some  prominence  in  the  world — the  lovely  Miss  Jane 
Dare  (an  assumed  name),  the  daughter  of  the  widowed 
landlady,  who  made  vests  for  a  clothing  house  at  the 
mvmificent  sum  of  two  or  three  dollars  a  week.  Her 
father  had  been  at  one  time  a  well-to-do  merchant, 
who  conducted  a  line  of  sailing  vessels  to  some  foreign 
port,  but  left  his  wife  and  only  child  penniless.  It  may 
be  assumed  that  the  subject  was  one  of  no  particular 
interest  to  me.  but  from  frequent  mention  of  the  ex- 
cellent qualities  of  Miss  Dare  my  curiosity  was  aroused, 
and  I  finally  said  to  Edwards,  "Invite  me  down  to 
supper  some  night,  so  I  can  view  this  prodigy  of  exal- 
tation," little  imagining  that  I  should  become  a  feature 
in  the  future  career  of  this  sprightly  Jane  Dare. 

How  casual  and  shght  are  the  circumstances  affect- 
ing the  lives  and  destinies  of  mortals.  Accordingly,  as 
a  lamb  to  the  shambles,  I  accompanied  Edwards  down 
one  evening  to  the  ding}'^  brick  structure,  on  a  side 
street,  where  he  obtained  his  fried  chops  and  lodgings 
for  three  dollars  and  a  half  a  week,  and  where  the  rosy- 
cheeked  Jane  dispensed  hot  biscuits  and  doubtful  jam 
to  half  a  dozen  embryotic  merchants  of  Edwards's  type. 
The  butter  was  strong  and  the  tea  was  weak,  and  the 
muffins  of  vmcertain  stability;  but  Jane,  Jane,  Jane! 
she  was  as  radiant  as  a  butterfly's  wing  and  looked  as 
sweet  as  an  apple  blossom;  of  medium  stout  build, 
fair  complexion,  blue  eye  and  golden  hair.  She  gave 
me  a  hearty  welcome  as  the  friend  of  Edwards,  and  I 
scarcely  regarded  her  excepting  what  I  covild  take  in 
at  a  glance,  as  I  observed  the  somewhat  suspicious 


222  Reminiscences  of 

aspect  of  Mother  Dare,  who  evidently  viewed  me  with 
some  curiosity  and  possible  apprehensions.  Quite 
needless  in  my  case,  and  it  was  not  tmtil  my  second 
call,  on  a  following  evening,  that  I  ventured  to  intimate 
the  necessity  of  replenishing  my  apparel  by  the  addi- 
tion of  a  waistcoat — ^after  an  hour's  conversation  with 
the  mother  and  daughter  and  Edwards  about  the 
needed  improvements  in  tenement  houses,  and  of  re- 
form in  the  school  system,  and  other  serious  subjects 
— and  before  I  left  I  had  my  meastire  taken  for  a  new 
vest  by  the  tapering  hands  of  rosy  Jane,  who  held  pins 
in  her  mouth.  A  third  visit  was  required  to  fetch  the 
material,  and  my  growing  fondness  for  the  mother's 
tea,  of  which  I  could  hardly  get  enough,  evidently 
manufactured  from  the  garden  shrubbery,  seemed  to 
disperse  any  suspiciousness  which  might  have  existed. 
I  ventured  to  express  the  satisfaction  which  might 
be  derived  from  a  drive  about  the  beautiful  suburbs 
of  the  city.  Mother  Dare  seemed  to  understand  who 
should  comprise  the  party,  and  expressed  the  difficulty 
of  getting  away  on  a  week  day,  but  might  be  arranged 
on  a  Sunday,  when  a  pot  of  beans  would  answer  for 
the  evening  meal.  It  was  then  suggested,  as  we  were 
all  to  go,  that  a  street  car  excursion  to  the  Mount  Au- 
burn cemetery  would  answer  our  purpose  and  give  us 
a  cheerful  recreation.  So  we  went  out  the  following 
Sunday  afternoon  to  the  cemetery,  and  I  was  struck 
by  the  simple  and  cheerful,  but  yet  independent,  am- 
bition of  the  pretty  Jane  by  her  remark,  as  we  viewed 
one  of  the  most  elaborate  monuments  there,  that  she 
would  be  about  willing  to  die  if  she  could  have  over 
her  grave  so  beavitiful  a  plinth  as  we  had  before  us. 
It  was  very  touching,  and  indicated  the  spirit  of  the 


A  Sportsman  223 

warrior  who  sought  the  bubble  reputation  at  the  can- 
non's mouth.  But  Jane  had  no  thought  of  dying, 
and  I  am  quite  sure  she  would  not  have  expired  to  gain 
a  hundred  Eg}-ptian  pyramids. 

A  fair  was  to  be  held  for  charitable  purposes  in 
Music  Hall  a  few  evenings  afterwards,  and  I  had  taken 
two  tickets,  and  Mother  Dare  consented  that  I  should 
take  Jane  there.  I  did,  and  Jane  became  elastic  in 
spirit  and  rigged  out  in  her  best  suit  for  the  occasion. 
She  was  a  lovely,  charming  girl,  and  no  one  could  re- 
gard her  costume  in  the  glow  of  her  beauty.  When 
we  entered  the  hall  she  was  wild  with  delight  and  ex- 
citement at  the  brilliant  costumes.  "Oh,  introduce 
me  to  some  rich  man,"  she  said.  "I  must  marry  and 
travel  to  Rome  and  Paris  and  London.  I  have  no 
time  to  lose.  I  must  go."  Jane  was  not  particularly 
retiring  or  shy  in  disposition. 

I  saw  approaching  in  the  promenade  an  elderly, 
bald-headed,  but  well-wigged,  confirmed  and  well-pre- 
served old  bachelor,  whom  we  will  call  AshberT)^  whom 
I  knew,  and  who  had  lately  retired  from  business  with 
a  large  fortime  after  a  wasted  life  at  business,  during 
which  I  doubt  if  he  ever  caught  a  trout.  I  mentioned 
the  situation  to  Jane,  who  requested  an  introduction, 
and  I  accordingly  presented  Mr.  Ashberry  to  her.  Jane 
was  a  gusher  of  full  volume,  and  the  somewhat  bewil- 
dered Ashberry,  upon  his  quitting,  asked  Miss  Dare  if 
she  would  accept  a  lottery  ticket  he  had  just  purchased 
in  a  probable  two-hundred-dollar  grand  piano,  put  up 
at  six  hundred — six  hundred  tickets  atone  dollar  each; 
would  Miss  Dare  kindly  accept  the  ticket  ?  Would  she ! 
I  had  no  doubt  about  it,  and  she  did  with  a  subdued, 
inexpressible  gush  which  made  Ashberry  totter,  and  I 


2  24  Reminiscences  of 

felt  sure  he  had  then  received  an  unusual  wound. 
What  fate  depended  upon  that  ticket?  Pretty  soon  a 
nvunber  was  hoisted  over  the  piano,  and  Jane  hastily 
looked  over  her  ticket,  and  behold,  it  was  her  own !  Her 
modest  and  limited  sewing-room  was  not,  perhaps,  just 
suited  for  it,  but  she  never  thought  of  that.  Where, 
oh,  where  was  the  precious  man,  the  angel  of  light, 
the  creator  of  her  glorification,  who  had  given  her  the 
ticket!  He  approached,  without  even  remembering 
the  number  of  his  lucky  ticket.  But  Jane  quickly  in- 
formed him,  and  showered  upon  him  such  a  merry  run 
of  sweet  words  and  tender  glances  that  Ashberry  fairly 
staggered  in  the  mazy  flood. 

I  thought  it  a  good  time  to  absent  myself  for  awhile 
and,  making  an  excuse  to  see  a  friend,  left  Jane  and 
Ashberry  for  a  promenade  together,  well  satisfied  that 
Jane  would  improve  the  opportunity.  When  I  re- 
joined my  May  and  December  to  accompany  Jane  to 
her  maternal  home,  I  found  that  the  autumnal  season 
of  harvest  had  been  woven  in,  and  that  Jane  had  ac- 
quiesced in  the  proposal  of  Ashberry  to  call  upon  her 
at  her  home.  There,  beneath  the  vigilant  eye  of 
mamma,  it  would  be  quite  appropriate. 

Time  flew,  as  well  as  love,  with  galloping  steeds,  and 
expectation  wreathed  the  way  with  flowers.  My  visits 
ceased  and  soon  I  learned  of  the  engagement  of  Jane 
with  her  long-waiting,  impatient  Ashberry.  The  mar- 
riage soon  followed,  and  Jane  removed  from  her 
tearful  mamma's  humble  abode  to  a  mansion  in  a 
fashionable  part  of  the  city. 

Years  rolled  on,  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  I  had 
somewhat  forgotten  Jane  in  the  busy  hum  of  life,  when 
one  evening  at  a  social  entertainment  in  London  I 


A  Sportsman  225 

noted  the  steadfast  gaze  of  a  matronly  and  fashionably- 
attired  lady,  who  beckoned  me  to  her  side,  but  whom 
I  failed  to  recognize,  until  with  her  hand  extended  she 
said,  "Do  you  not  remember  me?"  and  then  I  saw  it 
was  Jane.  I  recognized  then  the  abvmdant  traces  of 
her  former  beauty,  not  yet  eclipsed  by  ravages  of  time; 
the  still  radiant  cerulean  eye,  the  yet  unfaded  golden 
hair,  the  expression  of  sprightliness,  the  soft,  pleasant 
voice,  which,  when  once  possessed,  never  fails.  It  was 
Jane.  She  told  me  of  the  death  of  the  lamented  Ash- 
berry;  of  her  three  children,  one  of  whom,  a  daughter, 
was  of  surprising  beauty  and  attractiveness  and  of 
whom  I  had  heard  repeated  mention  in  connection  with 
the  bevy  of  fascinating  American  girls  in  London,  little 
imagining  she  was  the  daughter  of  Jane.  In  fact,  she 
was  credited  with  having  inspired  a  hopless  passion  in 
the  heart  of  a  royal  prince. 

And  Jane  had  perfected  herself  in  accomplishments 
in  such  surprising  degree  that  she  had  become  an  ele- 
ment in  London  society,  and  I  was  surprised  to  hear 
of  the  exalted  and  exclusive  class  she  moved  in,  and 
her  familiarity  with  members  of  the  royal  family  and 
her  associates  were  of  astonishment  to  me.  This  was 
the  last  time  I  ever  saw  Jane. 

Another  case  of  this  character  within  my  observa- 
tion was  that  of  her  whom  I  will  designate  as  Miss  Fran- 
ces Carroll,  a  young  lady  of  remarkable  beauty  and 
character,  who  arose  from  a  comparatively  humble  posi- 
tion to  one  of  considerable  prominence.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  a  retired  and  somewhat  financially  de- 
pressed merchant  of  Boston.  Particularly  fond  of 
skating,  I  frequented  in  the  season  for  such  recreation 
the  Back  Bay  area  of  the  city,  now  filled  in  and  built 


226  Reminiscences  of 

over  by  streets  and  rows  of  buildings.  Here  congre- 
gated on  favorable  days  many  young  people  for  amuse- 
ment, and  many  merry  occasions  we  had  there. 

Among  those  frequently  there  was  Miss  Carroll, 
one  of  the  most  accomplished  female  skaters  I  ever 
saw,  who  elicited  much  admiration  for  her  grace  and 
agility,  and  whose  attractiveness  and  buoyant  man- 
ners brought  many  admirers.  I  was  not  long  in  mak- 
ing her  acquaintance  through  some  of  my  friends,  one 
of  whom  was  much  smitten  with  her,  but  who  made  lit- 
tle progress  in  creating  a  reciprocal  interest.  Miss  Carroll 
was  not  of  the  retiring  cast,  having  a  free  and  pleasant 
word  for  all  her  friends,  and  was  in  no  wise  backward 
in  accepting  presents  of  skates  and  various  articles 
from  her  admirers,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  presenting 
her  with  a  pair  of  steel  runners  of  recent  improvement. 
Nature  had  endowed  her  with  more  than  her  skating 
accomplishment  and  beauty,  as  she  had  a  voice  of  re- 
markable sweetness  and  power,  and,  as  was  afterwards 
shown,  a  remarkable  faculty  of  application  and  mental 
ability,  and  with  much  ambition.  She  married  soon  a 
gentleman  of  w^ealth  and  removed  to  New  York,  where 
she  became  the  mother  of  several  children  and  occupied 
a  prominent,  though  not  generally  accepted,  position 
in  society,  and  I  attended  several  entertainments  at 
her  house  there. 

After  seven  or  eight  years'  residence  in  New  York 
she  became  estranged  from  her  husband,  occasioned,  as 
reports  go,  from  his  improper  treatment,  and  took  up 
her  abode  in  Paris  with  her  children,  occupying  a 
prominent  chateau  on  one  of  the  principal  boulevards, 
and  I  saw  her  there  in  1867.  Her  entertainments  were 
conspicuous  in  American  as  well  as  French  society,  and 


A  Sportsman  227 

her  cultivated  musical  voice  attracted  particular  ad- 
miration. After  a  few  years  in  Paris  she  suddenly  dis- 
appeared with  her  children  for  a  few  years,  going  I 
know  not  where,  nor  have  I  known  any  one  who  could 
tell.  She  returned  to  London  where  she  has  since  re- 
sided, taking  almost  immediately  a  prominent  position 
in  that  metropolis,  which  she  has  ever  since  sustained 
from  her  remarkable  talents  and  accomplishments,  and 
I  venture  to  say  that  no  American  woman  has  ever 
attained  more  influence  and  prestige  in  London  society, 
among  the  conservative  classes,  than  she,  and  her 
identity  will  be  easily  recognized  by  those  familiar  with 
society  in  that  city. 


MANY  Americans  considered  it  a  privilege  to  meet 
the  Prince  of  Wales — now  King  Edward  the 
Seventh — and  it  was  my  fortune  to  meet  him  on  sev- 
eral occasions,  and  all  who  have  met  him  will  testify 
to  his  most  admirable  bearing  and  gentlemanly  quali- 
ties, and  he  made  all  feel  at  ease  in  his  presence  by  his 
pleasant  manner. 

Sir  Walter  Gilbey,  most  prominent  and  perhaps 
more  so  than  any  man  in  England  in  advancing  the 
breeding  of  horses  and  their  classifications,  and  in  the 
organization  of  horses'  societies,  aided  me  most  materi- 
ally in  England  in  1883  in  making  a  collection  of  Shire 
horses  for  shipment  by  steamer  from  London  to  New 
York,  and  from  there  in  a  special  car  to  California,  con- 
sisting of  one  two-year-old  stallion  and  five  fillies,  all 
thoroughbred  Shires,  which  had  taken  first  prizes  at  the 
Shire  horse  exhibition  in  London,  and  which  arrived 
safely  in  California,  and  from  which  during  the  years 


228  Reminiscences  of 

since  I  have  bred  their  progeny.  This  breed  of  horses, 
from  which  the  Clydesdale  horses  have  emanated,  were 
bred  from  old  English  stock  in  the  Shire  counties,  of 
which  the  large,  strong,  distinctive  English  cart-horses 
of  the  present  day  have  come,  dating  back  to  the  law 
of  breeding  enacted  in  1541  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII., 
and  are  world-noted  for  their  weight  and  serviceable 
action. 

The  ancient  design  in  breeding  the  Shire  horses  was 
for  purposes  of  war,  and  to  give  powerful  horses  to 
carry  cavaliers  in  heavy  armor  for  tournaments,  and 
for  the  various  pageants  of  state  solemnities,  as  well 
as  for  cavalry  and  military  purposes. 

Being  a  member  of  a  prominent  London  horse  so- 
ciety, of  which  Sir  Walter  Gilbey  was  the  organizer  and 
first  president,  I  was  invited  to  a  dinner  given  annually 
by  Sir  Walter  at  his  town  residence,  Regent's  Park,  to 
the  president-elect  and  council  of  the  Hackney  Horse 
Society,  of  which  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  at  the  time 
president.  It  was  a  very  distinguished  gathering  of 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of  Portland,  the  Earls  of 
Londesborough,  Coventry,  Enniskillen,  Lords  Horth- 
field  and  Brooke,  Baron  Von  Schroder,  Viscount  Com- 
bermere.  Sir  Dighton  Probyn,  Sir  Selwyn  Ibbetson,  Sir 
Nigel  Kingscote,  and  a  few  others  of  prominent  note. 
I  was  the  onl}-  untitled  one  present.  It  was  quite 
informal,  and  all  went  merrily. 

The  Prince  came  somewhat  later  than  the  hour 
assigned — ^half-past  eight — a  feature  not  usual  at  Lon- 
don dinners,  but  quite  excusable  in  his  instance,  for 
which  no  apology  was  made.  In  fact,  it  is  not  good 
form  at  London  dinners  to  make  excuses  for  lateness, 
and  thereby  draw  attention  to  the  first  mistake,  for 


A  Sportsman  229 

which  guests  are  favorably  lenient,  well  knowing  that 
only  a  very  strong  reason  exists  for  tardiness  upon  an 
occasion  where  promptness  to  fill  is  so  well  understood. 
I  remember  an  occasion  in  London  of  a  dinner  I  at- 
tended scarcely  less  important  than  the  one  first  men- 
tioned, when  nearly  all  were  from  fifteen  to  thirty 
minutes  late,  owing  to  one  of  those  dense,  suffocating, 
sooty  fogs,  which  sometimes  in  the  autumn  drop  down 
on  the  streets  of  London.  In  this  instance  the  pasty 
gloom  of  smoky  moisture  was  so  dense  that  my  cab- 
man had  to  lead  his  horse  by  the  non-penetrating 
glimmer  of  a  lantern,  constantly  impeded  by  corre- 
sponding vehicles  travelling  all  sorts  of  ways,  and,  al- 
though I  started  well  in  advance  of  the  dinner  hotu",  I 
was  nearly  half  an  hour  late,  as  were  most  of  the  guests. 
In  this  instance  the  delay  was  so  general,  and  the  cause 
so  well  understood,  that  it  was  the  subject  of  general 
pleasant  remark. 

The  diimer  given  by  Sir  Walter  was  qmte  simple, 
and  so  considered  by  the  Prince,  who  remarked  as  he 
glanced  over  the  menu,  that  he  considered  it  a  model 
bill  of  fare,  and  that  he  should  take  it  home  to  show 
the  Princess,  putting  the  menu  in  his  coat  pocket, 
which  act  I  thought  well  to  follow  on  my  part,  and, 
withdrawing  it  now  from  a  package  of  old  papers,  I 
will  give  it  exactly : 

(Gilbey  Crest) 

Cambridge  House,  London,  N.  W. 

Dinner  to  the  President  (H  R.  H.  the  Prince  of  Wales)  Presi- 
dent-elect, Past  President  and  Council,  Hackney  Horse  Society. 
Tuesday,  3d  March,  iSgr. 

Oysters.  Turtle  Soup.  Clear  Soup. 

Tweed  Salmon  (Carham). 
Soles,  Slips.  Whitebait. 


230  Reminiscences  of 

Breast  of  Chickens,  Filleted. 
Woodcock.  Guinea  Fowl. 

Asparagus  (Argenteuil) . 
Forequarter  of  Lamb,  French  Beans. 
Duckling.  Green  Peas. 

Sweets:     Savoury.  Desert. 

Champagne:  Ayala's  Brut  Vintage,  1884. 
Madeira:  Cossart's  Secco  Reserva  Colheita  de  1836. 
Hock:  Schloss  Johannisberger  Auslese  Vintage,  1868. 
Champagne:  Pommery's  Vintage,  1874. 
Claret:  Mouton  Rothschild's  Vintage,  1875. 
Port:  Dow's  Dry,  Vintage,  1863. 
Claret:  Chateau  Margaux  Vintage,  1875. 
Sherry:  Gonzalez's  Vintage,  1847. 
Port:  Croft's  Magnums  Vintage,  1834. 

The  floral  furnishings  of  the  table  were  of  rare  and 
expensive  exotics.  After  dinner  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  most  of  the  guests  remained,  upon  adjournment 
to  the  smoking  and  coffee  room,  until  twelve  o'clock, 
all  in  pleasant  conversation.  I  had  occasion  to  remind 
the  Prince  of  his  early  visit  to  America  and  Boston  in 
his  nineteenth  year,  and  that  I  had  the  pleasure,  being 
Corporal  of  the  Guard  of  the  Independent  Corps  of 
Cadets,  of  doing  guard  at  the  Massachusetts  State 
House,  in  the  lunch  room,  partaken  of  by  the  Prince 
and  suite.  At  that  time  N.  P.  Banks  was  Governor  of 
the  State,  after  whom  the  Prince  particularly  inquired, 
and  referred  to  his  martial  bearing  on  horseback  in 
the  review  of  the  State  troops,  and  was  desirous  of 
learning  of  his  after  career. 

Not  long  afterwards  I  attended  the  exhibition  of 
the  English  Cart  Horse  Society  in  London,  of  which  I 
was  a  member,  and  I  invited  our  American  Minister, 
then  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  accompany  me,  which  he  did,  and 


A  Sportsman  231 

we  entered  the  private  enclosure  adjoining  the  royal  box 
reserved  for  members  and  friends.  The  Prince  was  to 
distribute  the  prizes  given  in  award,  and  we  seated 
ourselves  one  on  each  side  of  Mr.  Lawson,  owner  of  the 
London  Telegraph  newspaper.  Mr.  Lawson  had  ac- 
quired much  wealth  in  the  publication  of  his  paper, 
and  it  was  a  well  credited  rumor  that  Mr.  Lawson  had 
lately  accommodated  the  Prince  with  a  loan  of  £100,000 
as  the  wants  of  the  royal  heir  had  been  much  in  excess 
of  his  large  income,  and  it  was  estimated  at  the  time 
of  his  accession  to  the  throne  of  England  after  the 
decease  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  that  his  existing 
personal  indebtedness  exceeded  a  million  pounds  ster- 
ling, all  of  which  was  undoubtedly  liquidated  from  the 
ver}^  large  fortune  he  inherited  from  his  mother  upon 
his  becoming  King. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  Prince  in  the  royal  box, 
attended  by  the  Duke  of  Portland  and  a  few  equerries, 
he  looked  over  the  adjoining  box,  which  was  spacious, 
as  well  as  his  own,  and  sent  his  equerries  with  com- 
pliments to  various  prominent  parties  in  the  reser\^ed 
space  with  invitations  to  join  him  in  the  royal  box. 
Something  of  a  thinning  out  from  the  reserved  box  oc- 
curred, and  Mr.  Lawson  evidently  expected  to  receive 
the  royal  invitation,  and  seemed  to  experience  an  agita- 
tion palpable  to  Mr.  Lincoln  and  myself  as  the  thinning 
out  occurred  without  a  royal  summons  for  him,  and 
when  an  equerr}'  presented  an  invitation  to  Mr.  Lin- 
coln and  myself,  Mr.  Lawson  rose  with  us  and  made 
his  departure  from  the  exhibition.  He  has,  however, 
been  knighted  since  the  Prince  became  King,  and  the 
omission  of  him  from  an  invitation  was  doubtless  an 
intended  act  upon  the  part  of  the  Prince,  since  Mr. 


232  Reminiscences  of 

Lawson  was  credited  with  the  authorship  of  the  rumor 
about  the  loan.  The  position  of  the  Prince  was  too 
substantial  to  require  any  exertion  upon  his  part  to 
find  ready  money  when  needed  from  the  many  affluent 
capitalists  existing  in  London  who  would  feel  highly 
honored  by  being  creditors  of  the  heir-apparent. 

I  met  the  Prince  again  at  a  presentation  made  to 
Sir  Walter  Gilbey,  representing  the  subscribers  to  a 
fimd  of  a  thousand  guineas  for  a  testimonial  subscribed 
by  a  thousand  admirers  in  England  at  one  guinea  each, 
to  which  I  was  a  subscriber.  This  was  proposed  and 
headed  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  almost  immediately 
filled,  and  Sir  Walter  elected  to  have  for  the  thousand 
guineas  his  half  life-size  portrait  painted  by  the  emi- 
nent English  artist,  W.  Q.  Orchardson,  which  was  diily 
presented,  and  was  the  occasion  for  another  dinner 
given  by  Sir  Walter  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  some 
thirty  of  the  prominent  subscribers,  among  which  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  being  invited. 

My  acquaintance  commenced  with  Mr.  Orchardson 
on  a  salmon  stream  in  Scotland,  where  we  were  the 
guests  of  a  mutual  friend,  and  I  was  much  charmed 
with  his  piscatorial  skill  and  his  ardent  devotion  to 
angling.  Our  acquaintance  cemented  into  an  earnest 
friendship,  and  we  had  many  pleasant  rambles  together. 
I  was  not  aware  at  our  first  meetings  that  he  was  the 
most  celebrated  portrait  painter  in  England,  and  dis- 
tinguished for  his  Meissonier-like  fidelity  of  detail. 
Renewing  our  meetings  in  London,  I  was  often  a  visitor 
at  his  studio,  but  only  by  his  special  invitations,  for  I 
knew  too  well  the  error  of  intrusion  in  the  sacred  hours 
of  labor  given  by  painstaking  and  devoted  artists.  Mr. 
Orchardson,  although  so  prominent  in  the  artistic  line. 


A  Sportsman  233 

was  a  gentleman  of  most  simple  and  unostentatious 
bearing,  but  whose  countenance  was  one  of  the  most 
attractive  and  impressive  cast,  and  bore  the  imprint 
of  his  studious  fidelity  and  painstaking  industry,  yet 
was  most  modest  and  retiring  in  disposition. 

I  felt  quite  highly  complimented  when  personally 
invited  to  the  dinner,  in  being  informed  by  Sir  Walter 
Gilbey  that  he  had  also  invited  Mr.  Orchardson,  since 
he  was  the  creator  of  the  souvenir  picture,  but  that  his 
retiring  disposition  had  induced  him  to  avoid  the  promi- 
nence of  that  occasion  until  informed  by  Sir  Walter 
that  I  was  to  be  present,  when  he  said  he  would  attend 
if  he  could  sit  beside  me.  That  was  very  pleasant  for 
me  to  hear. 

After  dinner  while  I  was  engaged  conversing  with  Mr. 
Orchardson  on  sporting  matters,  we  were  joined  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Duke  of  Portland,  and  the  lat- 
ter interested  us  in  an  account  of  his  bear  hunting  in 
Russia  a  few  years  before.  It  was  the  habit  often  to 
get  after  bear  in  the  winter  after  they  were  in  their 
hibernating  quarters,  when  the  peasants,  finding  such 
localities  by  the  open  perceptible  breathing  holes, 
would  mark  the  spots  and  dispose  of  finds  for  a  com- 
pensation, and  his  host  having  secured  several,  invited 
him  to  join  in  the  hunt.  Accompanied  by  a  pack  of 
dogs,  the  latter,  on  being  brought  to  the  localities, 
would,  by  digging  at  the  holes  and  barking,  soon  fetch 
out  the  bears  from  their  slumberous  repose,  which 
would  be  shot  or  overcome  by  the  dogs.  Several  were 
killed,  and  one  nearly  cost  the  Duke  his  life  by  being 
shot  at  on  his  appearance  by  an  excitable  Frenchman 
guest,  who,  being  behind  the  Duke,  recklessly  fired  his 
gun  between  the  body  and  arm  of  the  narrator,  nar- 


234  Reminiscences  of 

rowly  escaping  his  body,  but  taking  off  a  considerable 
portion  of  his  coat.  These  bear  were  of  the  very  large 
brown  species,  and  despite  their  supposed  somnolent 
condition  would  put  up  a  very  ferocious  fight  upon 
being  aroused. 


IN  the  month  of  June,  1864,  I  made  an  excursion  to 
■  the  Grand  Lake  stream  for  land-locked  salmon 
(Salnio  confinis),  landing  at  Calais,  Me.,  and  by  small 
steamer  with  a  few  friends  by  the  St.  Croix  River  to 
Grand  Lake  stream,  where  we  built  and  occupied  a 
birch-bark  camp  on  the  shores  for  ten  days.  We  found 
the  fishing  particularly  good,  and  had  no  difficulty 
in  repeatedly  taking  doublets.  We  found  the  salmon 
lying  at  the  head  of  the  little  falls  and  eddies  and  full 
of  life.  In  fact,  they  are  more  lively  than  trout,  and 
a  strictly  high  quality  game  fish.  Although  plentiful  in 
the  stream  and  the  Grand  Lake  above,  they  seldom  run 
up  over  five  pounds  in  weight,  and  it  was  not  often 
that  we  caught  one  over  three  pounds,  while  the 
average  would  be  about  one  and  three  quarter  pounds. 

Since  that  period  the  Fish  and  Game  Commissioners 
of  the  State  have  introduced  the  land-locked  salmon 
into  many  hundreds  of  the  ponds  and  lakes  of  the 
State,  and  the  introduction  has  been  almost  invariably 
successful. 

At  the  time  of  this  excursion  this  salmon  did  not 
exist  in  more  than  three  separate  waters  of  the  State. 
One  of  the  most  important  auxiliary  benefits  to  this 
fish  has  been  the  introduction  of  the  salt  water  smelt, 
which  seems  well  adapted  to  nearly  all  fresh  waters, 
where  they  multiply  to  an  amazing  degree,  supplying  a 


A  Sportsman  235 

most  important  food  for  the  larger  fish,  particularly 
land-locked  salmon,  trout,  and  black  bass.  In  some  of 
the  larger  lakes  of  the  State,  although  the  smelts  do  not 
grow  to  a  larger  size  than  two  or  four  inches  in  length, 
and  may  be  observed  in  the  spring  plentifully  dead  on 
the  surface  of  the  water  from  some  unknown  cause, 
they  can  at  the  same  season  be  netted  by  the  barrelful 
in  some  localities  adjoining  their  spawning  places,  and 
furnish  without  dressing  in  imitation  of  white  bait, 
a  very  palatable  dish  simply  fried  in  pork  fat,  beef 
drippings,  butter,  or  olive  oil. 

In  a  few  lakes  I  have  observed  there  is  a  run  of 
larger  smelts  than  the  usual,  as  in  the  Rangeley  waters, 
and  this  season  (1904)  I  caught  one  of  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  pound  in  weight  on  a  small  fly  while  casting  for 
trout,  and  have  seen  one  which  weighed  half  a  pound. 
As  a  fish  food  element  in  fresh  waters,  the  smelt  may 
be  accounted  of  the  first  importance  in  its  adaptability 
and  fecundity. 

The  flavor  of  the  salmon  is  more  or  less  affected  by 
the  waters  it  inhabits.  I  was  a  member  of  a  California 
club  which  was  the  first,  and  I  think  as  yet  the  only 
one  to  introduce  this  fish  in  that  State,  in  Crescent 
Lake,  on  the  Shafter  ranch,  at  Point  Reyes,  where  they 
grew  with  unparalleled  rapidity  in  less  than  three  years, 
from  six  inches  in  length  to  four  and  five  pounds  in 
weight,  but  owing  to  a  scarcity  of  small  food  fish,  and 
living  largely  upon  the  plentiful  caddis  larva,  imbibed 
a  disagreeable  flavor,  though  eager  fly  takers  and  of 
full  game  action. 

On  Grand  Lake  stream  we  met  two  enthusiastic  dis- 
ciples of  the  gentle  art,  Mr.  Edward  Lannegan,  the  actor, 
and  W.  H.  Venning,  since  for  many  years  a  Canadian 


236  Reminiscences  of 

commissioner  of  fisheries.  Near  our  shelter  was  the  site 
of  Dr.  G.  W.  Bethune's  camp,  for  many  years  occupied 
by  this  gifted  and  eloquent  divine  of  New  York,  who 
was  a  most  devoted  fisherman  and  lover  of  Nature, 
and  who  had  died  in  Italy  two  years  previously. 

One  of  our  party  was  Walter  M.  Brackett,  of 
Boston,  the  distinguished  and  celebrated  painter  of 
fish,  especially  trout  and  salmon,  whose  pictures 
ornament  the  houses  of  many  foreign  purchasers, 
and  whose  completeness  in  presenting  on  canvas  the 
subject  of  his  art  has  never  been  excelled.  From 
his  youth  up  he  has  been  devoted  to  the  piscatorial 
art,  much  undoubtedly  at  the  expense  of  his  time, 
which  could  be  given  to  the  gaining  of  golden  results; 
but  with  him  of  secondary  interest,  though  dependent 
upon  his  profession  for  livelihood.  But  his  palette  and 
brush  were  always  laid  aside  whenever  an  angling  friend 
visited  his  studio,  for  the  entertaining  comparison  of 
fishing  experiences.  Now,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  still 
active  and  vigorous  he  pursues  the  bent  of  his  inclina- 
tions in  annual  visits  to  his  salmon  stream  in  Canada. 
At  his  living  rooms  and  studio  in  the  upper  part  of  a 
house  on  Tremont  Street,  where  he  has  resided  for 
nearly  half  a  century,  I  have  passed  many  pleasant 
evenings  in  his  genial  society  and  with  mutual  friends, 
and  owing  to  his  peculiar  attractiveness  I  have  met 
many  prominent  people  there,  distinguished  in  politics 
and  the  arts,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  Robert  Ingersoll, 
Anna  Dickinson,  ' '  Petroleum  V.  Nasby ' ' — whose  amus  - 
ing  letters  were  the  particular  delight  of  the  lamented 
President  Lincoln — Edwin  Booth,  William  Warren, 
the  favorite  comedian  of  Boston,  and  others ;  and  many 
pleasant  sit  downs  in  the  evenings  I  have  had  there  to 


A  Sportsman  237 

a  broiled  trout  or  shad,  and  a  sparkling  bottle,  with 
an  invited  guest  or  two.  Several  evenings  were  thus 
spent  with  the  genial  Robert  Ingersoll,  who  never 
failed  to  put  in  an  evening  there  when  in  town, 

A  curious  incident  occurred  from  this  trip  con- 
cerning Mr.  Brackett  and  one  of  our  party,  Mr.  Edwin 
Churchill,  of  Portland,  a  merchant  extensively  engaged 
in  the  West  India  business.  At  the  request  of  the 
latter,  a  sketch  was  made  for  him  by  Mr.  Brackett  of 
our  picturesque  birch  camp,  and  of  the  surroundings, 
showing  the  stream  and  scenery,  which  was  afterward 
elaborated  in  an  oil  painting.  Somewhat  to  our  sur- 
prise, upon  taking  passage  on  the  steamer  from  Port- 
land to  Calais,  Me.,  we  found  Mrs.  Brackett  and  her 
only  child,  Artemas  (now  an  artist  of  some  celebrity), 
then  nine  years  of  age,  who  were  to  accompany  us  upon 
our  excursion.  Although  Mrs.  Brackett  was  a  most 
agreeable  woman,  possessing  a  strong  taste  for  out- 
door life,  and  tastes  similar  to  those  of  her  husband, 
and  generally  accompanying  him  upon  his  excursions, 
we  were  somewhat  surprised  to  find  that  she  was  to  be 
one  of  our  party  upon  this  excursion,  to  a  region  then 
considered  pretty  well  on  the  frontier.  When  the 
picture  was  completed  and  forwarded  to  Mr.  Churchill, 
he  was  a  good  deal  astonished  to  find  Mrs.  Brackett, 
holding  the  hand  of  little  Artemas,  depicted  promin- 
ently on  the  bank  of  the  Grand  Lake  stream.  This  was 
not  very  agreeable  to  him,  as  he  had  evidently  believed 
that  he  was  obtaining  a  souvenir  of  an  episode  in  the 
wilds  of  Maine,  where  exposed  to  possible  privation 
and  more  or  less  of  rough  life,  the  picture  would  excite 
a  peculiar  interest  among  his  family  and  friends.  To 
have  a  well  attired  lady,  and  child  of  tender  years  in 


238  Reminiscences  of 

bold  relief  amid  the  otherwise  primitive  surrotmdings, 
destroyed  in  his  view  the  particiilar  features  he  wished 
to  convey. 

There  is  a  very  sensitive  sense  existing  with 
painters,  poets,  and  in  fact  with  all  artists,  in  having 
their  works  changed  after  completion  by  others,  and 
it  is  deemed  very  unprofessional,  and  contrary  to 
good  form,  for  rival  artists,  however  critical  they 
may  be  in  review  of  merit,  to  personally  amend  or 
touch  up  the  works  of  others.  Mr.  Churchill,  feeling 
a  delicacy,  in  opening  up  the  matter  with  the  artist, 
employed  a  somewhat  prominent  painter  in  Port- 
land— and  it  is  soniewhat  surprising  that  he  should 
have  undertaken  the  change — to  bury  Mrs.  Brackett 
and  her  son  beneath  a  huge  boulder,  which  restored 
the  primitive  appearance  of  the  picture.  By  some 
means  Mr.  Brackett  heard  of  the  liberty  which  had 
been  taken  with  his  work  and  the  metaphorical  inter- 
ment of  his  family,  and  became  much  incensed; 
which  led  to  an  acrimonious  correspondence  with  the 
Portland  artist,  which  finally  found  its  wa}^  into  the 
papers,  and  was  continued  at  some  length. 

When  our  time  for  leaving  the  pleasant  shores  of 
Grand  Lake  stream  arrived,  I  felt  very  loath  to  go 
away,  and  the  day  before  breaking  camp,  two  Indians 
came  along  in  a  canoe,  bound  for  the  wilderness  of 
ponds  and  lakes  above  for  wild  cranberries  and  musk- 
rat  skins,  with  whom  I  made  an  arrangement  to  go  on, 
and  made  a  somewhat  reluctant  farewell  to  my  com- 
rades, wno  were  to  return  to  civilization.  In  this 
canoe  excursion  we  passed  over  a  dozen  lakes  of  from 
five  to  fifteen  miles  in  extent,  in  a  wilderness  of  waters 
and  forest,  camping  for  two  or  thsee  days  here  and 


A  Sportsman  239 

there  when  favorable  for  the  pursuits  of  the  Indians, 
while  I  followed  my  fishing  inclinations,  and  in  shooting 
small  game  for  the  larder,  partridges  and  ducks,  though 
not  plentiful,  were  sufficient  for  our  wants.  Our  trip, 
covering  three  weeks,  extended  over  the  Machias  lakes 
and  ponds,  and  up  the  Fifth  Lake  stream  to  a  lake  of  the 
same  name,  and  over  the  Compass  and  Duck  lakes 
to  within  forty  miles  of  Bangor,  where  I  took  con- 
veyance to  that  city. 

It  was  ver}'^  interesting  to  follow  from  lake  to 
lake  over  the  old  Indian  trails  familiar  to  my  guides, 
where  a  carriage  of  our  canoe  was  necessary.  The 
two  Indians  secured  an  abundant  supply  of  muskrat 
skins  with  their  traps,  as  well  as  cranberries.  These 
Indians  had  a  decided  preference  for  the  young 
muskrats  as  an  article  of  food  over  any  other,  and 
I,  commencing  somewhat  hesitatingly  at  first,  foimd 
them  exceedingly  sweet  and  palatable.  The  muskrat 
is  not  a  carnivorous  animal,  being  allied  to  the  beaver, 
living  mainly  upon  succulent  water-growing  roots,  and 
vegetable  foods,  although  partial  to  fresh  water  clams, 
abundant  in  Maine  waters.  It  is  a  nocturnal  animal, 
and  a  ver>'  interesting  one,  building  mounds  of  a  few 
feet  in  height  for  winter  quarters,  where  their  com- 
fortable grass  beds  are  found.  Many  of  these  mounds 
are  connected  with  the  shores  by  under  water  routes, 
which  they  take  care  shall  be  deep  enough  to  keep 
from  freezing  over,  and  connect  with  subterranean 
earth  galleries.  The  farmers  and  natives  often  conjec- 
txu-e  concerning  the  severity  of  the  coming  winter  by  the 
dimensions  of  the  muskrat  mounds,  and  it  has  been 
obser\'ed  that  however  severe  the  floods,  the  muskrats' 
mounds  are  sufficiently  prepared  for  them. 


240  Reminiscences  of 

How  shall  we  accovint  for  this  apparently  abnor- 
mal faculty  indicated  by  animals,  birds,  and  fish,  so 
plainly  evinced  in  many  instances?  I  am  reminded 
of  the  almanac  maker,  who  prophesied  the  condi- 
tion of  the  weather  in  advance,  who,  pausing  on  a 
country  trip  to  inquire  the  way  of  a  farmer  engaged 
in  feeding  out  corn  to  his  ranging  swine,  was  given 
his  route  with  the  advice  to  make  haste  for  his  some- 
what distant  destination,  as  a  storm  was  coming  on. 
To  this  he  responded  that  it  was  not  likely,  as  his 
almanac  claimed  a  fair  day.  Going  on,  he  was  over- 
taken by  the  storm  and  wet  through.  Returning 
the  following  day  he  had  the  curiosity  to  ask  the 
farmer  how  he  knew  a  storm  was  coming  on  when 
the  conditions  for  pleasant  weather  were  so  evident? 
To  which  the  farmer  replied : 

"Oh,  my  hogs  know  more  than  almanac  makers,  I 
could  tell  by  the  way  they  acted." 

The  muskrat  is  much  better  adapted  for  rapid 
progress  through  the  water  than  on  land,  being  web- 
footed  and  possessing  a  flat,  scaly  tail  of  good  length, 
admirable  for  guiding  its  body.  The  hind  legs  and 
feet  are  blady  or  thin,  by  which  the  rat  can  swim 
rapidly  and  feather  the  oar,  so  to  say,  in  a  perfect 
manner,  and  will  go  for  a  hundred  feet  under  water 
without  difficulty.  A  peculiarity  about  the  animal 
is  its  musky  odor,  and  if  the  supplying  glands  are  not 
removed  in  dressing,  the  odor  may  be  found  rather 
too  powerful  for  ordinary  appetites,  though  my 
Indian  comrades  would  not  take  the  trouble  to  remove 
such  sources,  had  I  not  insisted  upon  it. 

One  feature  of  prominence  I  observed  in  the  musk- 
rat.    That  of  its  extremely  pugnacious  character,  as 


A  Sportsman  241 

indicated,  not  only  by  its  ferocity  shown  when  trapped 
and  alive,  but  on  the  scarred  skins  taken  from  the 
bodies  of  the  males,  indicating  sanguinary  battles 
which  must  occur  among  them  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year.  Nearly  every  male  skin  taken  exhibited 
numerous  scars,  and  a  few  old  ones  were  so  fur-bitten 
as  to  make  their  pelts  worthless.  These  animals, 
as  with  the  beaver  and  otter  swimming  below  the 
ice,  have  a  faculty  of  expelling  the  air  from  their  lungs, 
which  rises  beneath  the  ice  to  the  under  surface,  of 
sucking  in  the  globules  of  air  and  thus  renewing  its 
supply.  This  is  frequently  taken  advantage  of  by 
hunters  with  otter  which  have  been  driven  into  the 
water  beneath  a  thin  ice,  where  their  movement  could 
be  observed  and  followed,  by  striking  an  axe  hole  over 
the  air  bubbles,  and  by  this  wear  out  the  object  of 
pursuit,  until  completely  exhausted,  when  it  would 
be  secured. 

On  the  Schoodic  group  I  found  one  five  feet  higher 
than  the  one  below,  connected  by  a  small  stream  at 
the  head  of  which  was  an  old  log  dam,  pretty  well 
decayed.  Here,  camping  for  the  night,  we  broke 
away  a  portion  of  the  dam,  letting  a  good  flow  from 
the  upper  lake  into  the  lower,  over  the  old  stream 
bed.  As  it  looked  promising  in  the  morning  when 
the  flow  reached  the  lower  lake,  I  made  a  cast,  getting^^ 
a  rise,  and  at  the  second,  hooked  a  fine  salmon,  fol- 
lowed by  one  or  two  more,  and  apparently  could 
have  secured  more,  if  desired,  showing  the  attraction 
of  moving  water  at  that  season  for  the  salmon  below. 

Deer  were  plentiful,  and  I  could  have  probably 
secured  several,  if  any  necessity  had  existed,  but  at 
that  season  the  does  were  with  fawns,  and  we  had  a 


242  Reminiscences  of 

surplus  of  food.  Scarcely  a  day  passed  without  see- 
ing deer  in  the  morning  and  at  night,  feeding  or 
wading  along  the  lake  shores,  or  in  the  water,  and 
several  nights  we  heard  them  in  the  vicinity  in  the 
adjacent  woods.  Moose  were  not  so  plentiful,  though 
we  saw  two,  both  cows  with  calves,  and  one  passed 
along  the  water  front  near  us  with  its  calf,  as  we 
were  preparing  our  evening  meal,  so  near  that  it 
could  probably  have  been  brought  down  with  a 
charge  of  buckshot.  But  to  have  killed  a  noble 
animal  of  this  magnitude  in  our  situation  would  have 
been  criminal,  and  I  have  had  several  instances  since 
that  period  when  I  have  seen  this  mighty  animal, 
which  has  always  seemed  to  me  to  have  been  a  sur- 
vival of  the  ancient  days,  pass  before  me  unmolested. 
In  some  of  the  small  streams  connected  with  the 
Schoodic  salmon  waters,  I  frequently  caught  on  my 
fly  while  casting  for  brook  trout,  the  smolts  of  the 
land-locked  salmon,  which  generally  remain  in  the 
streams  when  hatched  for  the  first  and  sometimes 
the  second  year,  and  which  rise  readily  to  the  fly. 


IN  1869  I  made  an  excursion  with  a  friend,  from 
Cheyenne  in  Wyoming  to  the  Laramie  Mountains 
for  elk  and  deer  which  we  found  plentiful,  and  for 
trout  in  the  branches  of  the  Laramie  River.  The 
trout  were  tolerably  gamy,  but  not  equal  in  that 
respect  or  in  flavor,  to  the  eastern,  and  we  soon  had 
our  fill.  Wyoming  for  many  years  will  aff'ord  a  great 
field  for  sportsmen  having  a  great  variety  and  plenti- 
fulness  of  game. 

We  then  proceeded  on  by  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 


A  Sportsman  243 

road  to  Provo  City  in  Utah,  and  passed  several  days 
at  Utah  Lake,  a  large  fresh  water  body  of  about 
twenty-five  miles  in  length  by  five  or  sLx  miles  in 
width,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  square 
miles  in  area,  situated  thirty  miles  south  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.  We  found  this  a  magnificent  sheet  of 
water,  abounding  in  lake  trout  of  a  large  size,  where 
we  caught  by  trolling  all  we  could  desire,  and  in 
fact  gave  away  many  to  the  neighboring  Mormon 
settlers.  This  lake  has  since  been  stocked  with 
bass,  whitefish,  and  carp  and  now  affords  a  very 
large  quantity  of  food  for  Salt  Lake  City,  Ogden, 
and  the  svirrounding  country.  The  large  lake  trout 
natural  to  the  waters  are  especially  plentiful,  and 
we  saw  a  seine  hauled  in  while  we  were  there  con- 
taining several  hundred  pounds  of  the  large  brown 
trout. 

Carp  and  suckers,  generally  considered  unfavor- 
able food  products,  are  given  prominence  in  recent 
returns  of  the  industries  of  Utah  among  the  products 
of  Utah  Lake,  and  yielding  of  the  latter,  nearly  a 
million  pounds  in  1895.  Owing  to  the  altitude  of 
4000  feet  and  the  coldness  of  the  water,  the  suckers 
are  esteemed  for  food  more  than  those  taken  from 
warmer  waters. 

The  Great  Salt  Lake,  a  singular  phenomenon  of 
nature  in  its  extreme  saltness — similar  to  the  great 
Dead  Sea  and  a  large  lake  in  Persia  and  some  in 
South  America — is  entirely  devoid  of  fish  life,  con- 
taining one  third  of  salt,  and  in  density  so  great  as  to 
float  the  human  body  with  ease.  It  is  larger  than 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  and  half  as  large  as  the 
State  of  Connecticut.     Although  it  receives  annually 


244  Reminiscences  of 

large  quantities  of  fresh  water  from  several  streams, 
and  the  natural  drainage  of  a  large  basin  with  no 
visible  outlet,  it  has  been  of  late  years  constantly 
receding,  and  in  my  remembrance  has  diminished 
its  extent  by  over  ten  miles.  It  is  comparatively 
shallow,  its  extreme  depth  being  but  sixty  feet. 

Many  have  supposed  that  this  lake  had  a  subter- 
ranean outlet  but  its  shrinkage  is  most  likely  occa- 
sioned by  evaporation.  In  my  memory  Lake  Tulan 
(Tulare)  a  large  body  of  fresh  water  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, covering  several  square  miles,  has  about  dis- 
appeared by  evaporation,  and  now  most  abundant 
harvests  are  being  grown  over  the  old  lake  bed. 
In  the  earliest  days  of  California  this  lake  was  de- 
scribed as  covering  over  one  hundred  square  miles. 

Lately  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  has  made  a  con- 
siderable reduction  in  its  route  by  building  a  trestle 
bridge  of  over  twenty  miles  in  length  across  a  shal- 
low part  of  the  lake.  The  evidence  unmistakably 
upon  the  neighboring  mountains  shows  that  in  some 
remote  period  this  lake  covered  a  very  much  larger 
area,  probably  six  or  eight  times  more  than  at  present, 
and  had  a  depth  of  five  or  six  hundred  feet.  Three 
ver}''  distinct  benches,  or  water  levels  of  prominent 
extent,  are  shown  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake  upon 
the  mountain  sides,  where  the  waters  of  the  lake  must 
have  washed  for  long  periods  on  three  clearly  shown 
levels,  separated  from  each  other  by  from  one  hundred 
to  two  hundred  feet.  These  levels  are  distinctly 
visible  to  the  passengers  from  the  passing  railroad. 

From  Utah  Lake  I  passed  on  by  the  railroad  to 
Ogden,  which  is  now,  but  was  not  then,  the  connect- 
ing place  of  the  Union  Pacific  with  the  Central  Pacific 


A  Sportsman  245 

on  to  California.  The  connecting  point  at  that  time 
was  at  Promontory,  some  seventy  miles  west  of  Ogden, 
a  barren  and  desolate  place,  undesirable  for  a  union 
place  of  two  prominent  railroads,  and  the  intervening 
distance  east  was  acquired  by  the  Central  Pacific  Rail- 
road from  the  Union  Pacific,  giving  each  road  many 
advantages  over  the  barren  Promontory.  The  racing 
of  both  roads  building  across  the  continent  under  the 
Enabling  Act  of  Congress — so  bountiful  in  the  giving 
of  the  credit  of  the  government  in  its  guarantee  on 
the  second  mortgage  bonds,  and  outright  gifts  of 
many  millions  of  unoccupied  land — was  eager  and 
exciting,  as  I  was  witness  of,  from  frequent  pas- 
sages over  the  building  routes  from  1865  to  1869. 
Despite  the  enormous  aid  of  the  government,  and  the 
immense  stakes  worked  for,  there  were  periods  during 
the  building  when  the  distinct  bodies  of  workers  on 
each  side  of  the  continent  were  at  their  wits'  ends  to 
provide  ready  means  to  meet  their  expenses.  Im- 
mense discounts  were  made  in  the  selling  of  the  bonds, 
even  those  guaranteed  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment. It  was  at  a  time  when  the  credit  of  the 
government  was  largely  strained  by  the  necessity  of 
providing  over  three  thousand  millions  of  dollars  for 
the  expenses  of  the  Civil  War,  when  at  times  a  dollar 
of  the  United  States  government  was  not  worth  hfty 
cents  on  a  gold  basis  in  the  markets  of  the  world. 

The  government  required  the  iron  rails  laid  down 
to  be  of  American  manufacture,  which  cost  both  roads 
at  many  times,  over  one  hundred  dollars  per  ton,  and 
which  in  some  instances  were  laid  over  native  iron 
beds,  from  which  Bessemer  steel  rails  have  since  been 
made,  and  much  superior  to  the  wrought  iron  used, 


246  Reminiscences  of 

at  less  than  one  fifth  of  the  cost  of  the  former.  Still 
despite  all  obstacles,  the  reward  was  promising. 

The  iron  rails  could  not  be  obtained  readily  enough 
to  keep  up  with  the  grading,  and  the  latter  stretched 
out  hundreds  of  miles  beyond  the  track-laying,  and 
from  Promontory  where  the  final  rail-laying  met, 
graded  tracks  stretched  otit  in  a  total  of  several 
hundred  miles  beyond  the  place  of  meeting,  still 
existing  monuments  of  lost  labor. 

The  government  aid  to  the  building  of  the  Union 
Pacific  and  Central  Pacific  Railroads  across  the  con- 
tinent was  one  of  the  most  broad-minded  and  com- 
prehensive plans  ever  conceived  by  any  government, 
and  at  a  period  of  financial  condition  when  most  men 
would  have  shrunk  from  undertaking  the  great  perils 
involved;  but  it  was  carried  through  in  the  briefest 
period  in  which  any  similar  enterprise  of  that  character 
was  accomplished,  uniting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
oceans  by  a  direct  route  of  3300  miles.  The  govern- 
ment at  that  time  was  at  an  annual  expense  of  over 
six  millions  of  dollars  paid  out  for  wagon  transporta- 
tion to  its  military  stations  through  the  wilderness, 
which  railroad  carriage  largely  diminished,  besides 
advantaging  the  rapid  subjugation  of  hostile  Indians 
which  imperilled  settlements.  The  building  of  the 
great  Transcontinental  route  also  encouraged  the 
rapid  building  of  man}^  auxiliary  roads,  followed  by 
extensive  settlements  and  the  increase  of  new  indus- 
tries. Many  objections  were  made  from  various 
quarters  to  the  advancement  of  government  funds 
and  credit,  yet  every  dollar  advanced  was  paid  up 
with  interest  in  full. 

The  enormous  advantages  of  railroad  building  in 


A  Sportsman  24; 

the  United  States,  equalling  in  extent  all  others  in 
the  world,  is  exhibited  in  the  immense  harvests  now 
grown  and  marketed,  and  in  the  large  exportation 
of  manufactured  articles.  Consider  alone  the  magni- 
tude of  the  com  crop  of  the  present  year  estimated 
at  two  billions  and  a  half  of  bushels,  and  perhaps 
more.  How  difficult  to  realize  the  magnitude  of  its 
bulk  and  value  from  a  mere  recitation  of  the  words  "two 
billions  and  a  half  of  bushels!  "  Load  it  up  in  the  rail- 
road cars  and  see  how  long  a  train  it  will  make.  Cal- 
culate 30,000  pounds  to  a  car,  and  a  bushel  at  sixty 
pounds,  and  the  length  of  the  cars  at  45  feet  with 
couplings,  and  you  have  a  train  of  over  50,000  miles, 
enough  to  go  around  the  world  twice. 

Little  wonder  that  good  railroad  business  depends 
upon  good  crops,  and  such  as  we  have  this  year,  1905, 
and  have  had  for  the  past  few  years  give  great  pros- 
perity to  this  wonderful  resourceful  country  of  ours. 

At  Ogden  I  found  a  special  Pullman  car  occupied 
by  several  Union  Pacific  Railroad  directors  going  to 
Salt  Lake  City  over  the  new  railroad  just  completed, 
wholly  built  by  Mormon  labor,  afterward  acquired 
by  the  Union  Pacific.  Accompanying  this  car  was 
Bishop  Kipp,  of  California,  and  Commodore  C.  K. 
Garrison,  of  New  York.  I  was  invited  to  join  the 
party  over  the  new  road.  In  our  passage  down  from 
Ogden  we  passed  through  a  short  tunnel  which  had 
not  been  completed  quite  wide  enough  for  our  car, 
though  nearly  so,  and  going  at  a  fairly  brisk  speed,  we 
were  shaken  up  and  alarmed  by  our  car  striking,  on 
both  sides  of  the  tunnel,  projecting  points  of  rocks, 
which  considerably  damaged  our  car.  We  went 
through,  however,  all  right,  keeping  the  rails.     We 


248  Reminiscences  of 

called  in  a  body  upon  that  remarkable  man,  Brigham 
Young,  who  received  us  most  cordially,  and  who 
entertained  us  for  two  hours  in  conversation  about 
the  Mormon  situation,  and  various  subjects.  He 
expressed  himself  as  not  seeking  the  advancement  of 
railroads  in  Utah,  but  yielding  to  the  inevitable,  con- 
sidering that  such  were  by  no  means  essential  to  the 
further  success  of  the  Mormon  Church,  evidently  feel- 
ing that  more  years  of  the  undisturbed  conditions 
before  existing  would  be  desirable  to  strengthen  Mor- 
mon interest,  and  referred  to  the  alreadj^  invading 
elements  becoming  evident,  particularly  to  the  reluc- 
tant giving  of  a  license  by  Salt  Lake  City  for  a  saloon, 
where  intoxicating  drinks  were  dispensed,  one  of  which 
had  now  been  established  under  the  high  tax  of  $3000, 
and  it  had  been  a  question  if  the  tax  should  not  have 
been  so  high  as  to  have  caused  prohibition.  But  since 
the  railroad  had  come  and  with  it  an  influx  of  foreign 
influences,  the  situation  must  be  met  as  efficiently  as 
possible,  and  he  had  no  fears  about  the  growth  and  suc- 
cess of  the  Mormon  Church  which  was  destined  to  yet 
leaven  the  whole  world  within  its  true  faith.  The 
arrival  that  day  of  a  perambulating  circus  at  Salt  Lake 
City  he  was  glad  of,  which  he  should  attend,  and 
highly  approved  of,  and  thought  it  would  be  highly  ac- 
ceptable to  the  Mormon  people,  who  had  been  debarred 
from  such  entertainments.  The  next  day  being  Sun- 
day he  invited  us  to  attend  the  services  at  the  Taber- 
nacle, and  to  Bishop  Kipp,  extended  an  invitation 
that  he  should  assist  in  the  services.  This  invitation 
the  Bishop  accepted,  and  we  were  promptly  at  the 
Tabernacle,  where  special  seats  in  front  were  reserved 
for  us.     The  old  Tabernacle,  now  superseded  by  the 


A  Sportsman  249 

elegant  granite  Temple,  seated  some  six  thousand, 
and  contained,  as  President  Young  informed  us,  the 
largest  organ  in  the  world,  excepting  the  one  in  Music 
Hall  of  Boston,  and  had  been  made  entirely  by  Mor- 
mon skill  and  labor.  The  Tabernacle  was  crowded 
to  its  extent,  and  the  audience  was  garbed  in  some- 
what different  costumes  from  those  seen  in  Eastern 
city  churches.  The  large  poke  bonnets,  now  unseen, 
were  in  evidence,  and  many  long-tailed  blue  coats 
with  brass  buttons  were  frequent  among  the  Elders — 
relics  of  former  days  from  foreign  countries.  Despite 
the  quaint  costumes  of  severity,  it  was  evident  that 
Gentile  influences  were  commencing  to  be  felt  by  some 
of  the  younger  portions  of  the  congregation,  in  a  dis- 
playing of  colors  which  were  not  entirely  sombre. 
These  were  the  occasion  of  some  remarks  on  the  subject 
by  President  Young  during  his  address,  when  reviewing 
the  vanities  of  the  world,  and  the  tendency  of  the 
female  sex  to  follow  the  fashions  of  the  ungodly, 
which  were  vain  and  irrelevant  to  true  piety.  The 
sticking  in  of  gay  feathers,  as  he  designated  it,  while 
appropriate  to  the  male  domestic  fowl,  growing  where 
nature  designed,  could  not  be  availed  of  by  the  Chris- 
tian woman  without  a  sacrifice  of  modesty  and  re- 
ligious regard, — this  with  many  admonitions  of  being  on 
guard  against  some  of  the  possibly  pernicious  features 
likely  to  be  introduced  by  the  influx  of  settlers,  which 
would  follow  the  building  of  the  railroad  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  mineral  and  agricultural  wealth  of  the 
region.  The  audience  was  very  orderly  and  attentive 
and  it  was  clearly  evident  that  the  head  of  the  church 
had  a  powerful  influence  over  and  complete  control  of 
his  hearers. 


250  Reminiscences  of 

The  Bishop,  accepting  the  invitation  which  had 
been  extended  to  him,  made  what  I  considered  a 
most  excellent  sermon.  He  was  guarded,  and  prop- 
erly confined  his  remarks  to  general  subjects.  He 
was  liberal  in  religion  and  above  prejudice,  and  made 
a  strong  argument  upon  the  advantages  of  Christianity, 
and  expressed  the  belief  that  all  honest  workers  would 
ultimately  be  gathered  together  in  the  bosoms  of 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  enjoy  the  reward 
of  their  virtues.  Warming  up  with  his  subject  he 
dilated  upon  the  great  satisfaction  difficult  to  express, 
which  would  be  experienced  in  that  last  resting-place 
which  he  compared  with  the  joy  which  would  be  ex- 
perienced upon  arriving  at  the  home  of  our  childhood. 
And  looking  around  over  the  remarkable  collection  of 
Mormons  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  dressed  as  they 
were  in  the  diversified  garbs  of  their  nationalities,  he 
dwelt  at  length  upon  the  homes  of  childhood,  the  old 
house  with  its  possible  vines  clinging  to  the  portal  of 
entrance,  the  old  familiar  trees  under  whose  shade  so 
many  pleasant  hours  had  been  passed,  the  wild  flowers 
of  the  field,  the  cold  water  of  the  old  familiar  spring, 
the  old  swinging  gate  so  often  freighted  with  its  in- 
fantile weight,  the  merry  laugh  of  childish  glee,  the 
mother's  fond  smile  and  pleasant  words,  all  were  but  a 
reflection  of  the  joy  and  never-ending  satisfaction  of 
the  heavenly  home. 

During  this  delivery,  Brigham  Young  seemed 
strangely  agitated,  rising  and  taking  several  drinks 
of  water  from  an  adjoining  table,  and  seemed  several 
times  upon  the  point  of  interrupting  the  Bishop.  The 
latter  had  no  sooner  completed  his  address  than 
Brigham  Yoving,  taking  the   pulpit,  commenced  one 


A  Sportsman  251 

of  his  characteristic  sermons,  in  which  he  scored  the 
Bishop  in  language  both  forcible  and  plain.  He  said, 
the  Mormons  could  follow  the  Bishop  in  all  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Bible;  but  that  the  Mormons  went  much 
farther  owing  to  the  light  of  new  revelations,  and 
through  which  the  Mormons,  as  the  chosen  people  of 
the  Lord,  were  yet  to  have  the  wealth  of  the  world 
poured  into  their  possession,  and  that  the  Bishop  need 
have  no  fear  but  the  Mormons  would  be  entirely  at 
home  in  the  bosoms  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and 
the  old  patriarchs  of  the  Bible,  as  they  would  be  among 
the  polygamists  of  the  Lord.  And  so  far  as  hkening  the 
satisfaction  of  heaven  with  that  of  revisiting  the 
old  homes,  he  would  have  none  of  it,  nor  would  any 
of  the  Mormons.  They  had  had  enough  of  it;  they 
had  tried  to  cultivate  the  old  homes,  but  they  had 
been  driven  forth  into  the  new  land  of  promise ;  they 
had  been  driven  from  pillar  to  post;  they  had  settled 
several  homes  before  they  came  to  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
for  himself ,  he  had  been  glad  enough  to  shake  off  the  dust 
of  the  old  home,  and  get  away  with  an  old  broken- 
down  horse  and  wagon,  and  he  did  not  want  to  hear 
any  more  about  it.  If  there  were  any  of  the  Mormons 
who  wanted  anything  to  do  with  the  old  home,  they 
had  better  get  away  as  soon  as  possible,  as  they  were 
not  fit  for  the  inspired  selection  of  the  Lord. 

The  circus  was  a  great  affair  for  the  Mormons. 
It  was  a  sort  of  second-hand  humdrum  outfit,  accom- 
panied by  a  few  dusty  elephants  and  camels,  with  a 
sprinkling  of  wild  animals  in  cages.  But  it  was  the 
real  thing  for  Salt  Lake  City,  and  it  was  very  amusing  to 
witness  the  excitement  that  occurred,  when  the  gilt 
chariot   containing   the   band   made   its   appearance, 


252  Reminiscences  of 

heading  the  procession  of  elephants  and  camels,  and 
cages  of  animals,  followed  by  the  usual  horses  and 
trick  ponies  and  spangled  clowns.  The  whole  town 
seemed  to  be  out  and  aroused.  Old  men  and  women ; 
fathers  and  mothers,  fast  holding  their  children  in 
hand,  clogged  the  streetways,  and  followed  the  pro- 
cession to  its  end.  It  was  the  first  glimpse  of  high 
life  the  Mormons  had  had  the  great  joy  of  seeing,  and 
no  triumphal  return  of  the  ancient  Caesars  through 
the  streets  of  Rome  laden  with  spoils  and  captured 
chieftains  could  have  been  a  greater  event  for  the 
populace. 

For  several  days  and  nights  the  circus  held  out 
with  crowded  tents.  Brigham  Young  had  his  hberal- 
sized  family  box  for  fifty  or  more,  which  gave  the 
signal  for  all  hands  to  turn  otit,  and  it  is  doubtful  if 
any  good  Mormon  failed  to  do  so.  It  was  as  good 
as  seeing  a  circus  alone  to  witness  the  general 
heartfelt  enthusiasm  of  the  audiences,  and  the  out- 
breaks of  laughter  and  applause  were  certainly  beyond 
anj^lhing  the  circus  had  ever  experienced  before. 
The  bareback  riders,  the  spangled  clowns  with  their 
old  worn-out  jokes  and  witticisms,  became  new,  and 
Salt  Lake  City  received  its  first  baptism  of  high  life 
and  sports. 


THE  Dominion  of  Canada,  comprising  an  area  equal 
to  that  of  the  whole  United  States,  including 
Alaska,  is  one  vast  hunting  and  fishing  region,  which 
should  furnish  satisfaction  to  sportsmen  for  ages  to 
come.  Being  prolific  in  lakes  and  rivers  which  can  be 
kept  teeming  with  fish-Ufe  from  breeding,  and  with 


A  Sportsman  253 

over  a  million  and  a  quarter  square  miles  of  compara- 
tively vmbroken  forest  for  the  shelter  of  game,  it  will 
be  difficult  to  find  the  world  over  an  equally  inviting 
region  for  sportsmen. 

Salmon  fishing,  the  first  among  fishing  pleasures,  is 
comparatively  hmited  in  extent  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  the  United  States,  but  extensive  in  Cana- 
dian waters  and  in  the  coast  streams  to  and  beyond 
Labrador. 

I  have  made  a  number  of  excursions  for  salmon 
fishing  to  various  Canadian  streams,  where  I  met  with 
particular  success.  From  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  Bay  of  Chaleurs  a  number  of  prominent  salmon  and 
trout  streams  diverge,  notably  the  Restigouche,  Meta- 
pedia,  and  Saguenay,  and  on  the  Restigouche,  near 
the  Metapedia  settlement,  is  a  remarkable  salmon  pool 
about  half  a  mile  in  extent,  where  in  some  seasons  as 
high  as  six  thousand  pounds  of  salmon  are  taken  with 
the  fly.  In  1879  and  1880  I  passed  in  the  season  sev- 
eral weeks  there,  on  some  days  taking  eight  or  ten 
good  fish. 

At  the  time  I  visited  the  section,  one  Frazer — a 
huge,  good-hearted,  easy-going  Scotchman,  who  owned 
the  land  about  the  pool,  and  for  a  mile  or  so  from  it 
above  and  below — carried  on  farming  and  had  a  con- 
gregation of  buildings,  and  a  moderate-sized  hotel 
where  he  accommodated  fishermen,  who  then  were  few 
in  number,  charging,  besides  board,  for  the  privilege  of 
fishing,  five  dollars  per  day,  which  included  one  of  his 
boats  and  two  Indian  guides. 

Frazer,  although  a  Scotchman,  was  an  exception  to 
many  of  his  nationality,  who  are  noted  for  their  canny 
and   thrifty   habits,    and   he    foimd   farming   a    very 


254  Reminiscences  of 

moderately  paying  interest,  and  having  a  large  family, 
and  keeping  continually  a  lounging  crowd  of  Indians 
for  occasional  use,  who  fed  upon  his  subsistence,  was  a 
good  deal  embarrassed  financially,  and  besought  me  to 
buy  out  his  holdings,  which  carried  the  riparian  right 
of  fishing,  as  held  under  the  laws  of  the  Province  of 
New  Bnmswick.  His  asking  price  was  $13,000,  giving 
him  a  bonus  of  $3000  over  the  existing  mortgage  on 
his  place,  which  being  overdue  was  pressing  upon  him. 
I  thought  very  seriously  of  taking  it,  considering  the 
value  of  the  salmon  pool,  but  hesitated  and  let  it  pass 
in  view  of  my  camp  established  at  the  Rangelej^  lakes, 
which  pretty  well  satisfied  my  fishing  tastes. 

I  mentioned  the  subject  to  a  friend  of  mine,  who 
made  the  purchase,  and  who  turned  it  over  in  a  few 
weeks  to  the  now  celebrated  Restigouche  Club  for 
$30,000.  This  club,  starting  upon  the  property  as  its 
basis,  on  a  formed  capital  of  $100,000,  with  one  htin- 
dred  shares  at  $1000  each,  and  securing  adjacent  prop- 
erties, is  now  the  most  prominent  and  wealthy  fishing 
club  in  the  world,  composed  mainly  of  wealthy  New 
Yorkers,  and  the  shares  of  the  club  when  changing 
ownership  now  are  appraised  at  $10,000  each,  and  are 
only  disposed  of  in  exceptional  cases.  It  is  doubtful 
if  the  Restigouche  pool  could  now  be  purchased  for  a 
quarter  of  a  million  dollars. 

In  the  vicinity  is  a  village  of  Micniac  Indians,  who 
were  once  a  powerful  tribe  inhabiting  the  coast  line  of 
Southern  Canada  in  the  early  days  of  white  occupa- 
tion, warlike  and  aggressive,  sun -worshippers,  and  de- 
voted wholly  to  fishing  and  hunting.  Peaceful  with 
the  French  settlers,  they  quarrelled  with  the  English 
upon  their  gaining  the  ascendancy  over  the  French,  and 


A  Sportsman  255 

boldly  attacked  the  English  settlements,  and  had  no 
hesitancy  in  plvindering  English  vessels  on  the  coast, 
and  in  several  instances  engaged  with  armed  ships  sent 
against  them,  and  are  credited  with  having  taken  over 
a  score  of  vessels  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  They  were  fi- 
nally broken  up,  as  hostile  Indian  bands  have  invariably 
been,  and  the  village  on  the  shore  of  Chaleurs  Bay  now 
represents  the  tribe,  where  they  are  advanced  in  civiU- 
zation,  having  a  grammar  and  printed  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture and  books  of  devotion  in  their  language,  partly  in 
phonetic  characters  and  type;  and  to  see  them  going 
to  worship  on  the  Sabbath  one  would  think  a  large 
portion  of  them  were  whites,  so  neatly  dressed  and  light- 
complexioned  are  they.  A  rivalry  in  religion  exists 
among  them,  as  with  humanity  in  general,  part  being 
devoted  to  the  Cathohc  religion  and  others  to  the 
Protestant,  results  of  their  early  teachings  from  the 
French  and  Enghsh. 

Among  these  Indians  are  the  most  skilful  salmon- 
fishing  guides  and  hunters  to  be  found  anywhere.  The 
adroitness  of  those  Indians  in  poling  a  canoe,  standing 
up,  one  at  the  bow  and  the  other  at  the  stem,  over  the 
foaming  waters,  amid  falls  and  rocks  is  marvellous — 
pushing  and  guiding  the  canoe  with  long  spiked  poles, 
with  rapidity  in  smooth  water,  and  slowly  forcing  it  up 
the  falls  in  narrow  passages  between  threatening  rocks, 
and  all  in  perfect  safety  and  freedom  from  splashing 
water.  With  my  wife  I  made  many  of  these  river  ex- 
cursions, which  I  shall  always  remember  with  delight. 

I  had  an  amusing  incident  with  one  of  my  two 
Indian  guides.  One,  Louis,  was  of  extraordinary  ex- 
pertness  and  very  steady  in  character.  The  other,  Joe, 
was  heavier,   but   by  no  means  clumsy.     He  would 


256  Reminiscences  of 

fail  to  turn  up  on  occasional  days  after  being  paid  off, 
and  his  appearance  when  coming  on  again  created  an 
impression  in  my  mind  that  he  had  been  on  a  baccha- 
nalian revel ;  and  I  was  informed  that  he  was  not  averse 
to  such  occasions,  and  that  his  squaw  often  collected 
his  dues  from  Frazer  for  herself  and  children  at  home, 
resulting  sometimes  in  a  more  highly  opaque  coloring 
to  her  visual  organs  than  before — for,  sad  to  relate, 
Joe  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  wife-beater.  I  had 
reason  to  think  that  my  stock  of  Jock  Scots  and  sun- 
drv'  flies  from  my  flybook  were  to  some  extent  de- 
pleted while  in  his  care  during  meal  times,  which  might, 
however,  have  been  iinaccountably  blown  away. 

One  day  I  lost  one  of  my  sleeve-buttons  from 
my  cuff,  which  I  had  observed  hung  loosely  while 
I  was  engaged  with  a  salmon,  and  was  missing  when 
I  went  to  my  noon  meal,  and  which  I  supposed  might 
have  dropped  in  the  boat.  It  was  one  of  a  very  valu- 
able pair  to  me,  being  made  up  of  two  ancient  silver 
coins  of  the  Roman  Empire  which  I  had  obtained  in 
1868  from  the  ruins  of  Pompeii,  with  other  relics  from 
the  excavations  there .  When  I  returned  to  my  canoe  for 
the  afternoon  fishing,  I  informed  my  guides  of  the  loss, 
but  they  had  seen  nothing  of  the  button,  and  the  boat 
was  clean  and  drawn  up  on  the  shore,  bottom  side  up 
as  usual.  A  diligent  search  was  made  at  the  landing 
where  the  boat  was  drawn  up,  but  without  result.  I 
was  quite  annoyed  at  the  loss,  and  somehow  felt  a  tele- 
pathic impression  that  Joe  knew  something  more  about 
it  than  I  did.  Thinking  it  over  in  the  afternoon  fish- 
ing, I  concluded  to  make  a  new  approach  to  Joe  on  the 
subject  and  to  offer  him  five  dollars  if  he  could  succeed 
in  finding  the  button,  which  I  felt  sure  must  be  some- 


A  Sportsman  257 

where  about  the  landing,  covered  over  perhaps  by  the 
shingle  or  loose  earth.  Joe  came  smihng  toward  me 
the  following  inoming  with  the  lost  button,  which  his 
careful  search  had  discovered  about  the  landing,  and 
received  the  reward  of  his  honesty,  which  caused  his 
absence  during  the  two  following  days,  passed  in  the 
celebration  of  his  fortunate  find. 

I  had  a  curiosity  one  evening  to  make  a  rough  cal- 
culation what  one  of  these  old  Roman  coins  would 
amount  to  if  placed  at  six  per  cent,  interest  and  com- 
pounded from  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  Pompeii 
by  the  eruj^tion  of  the  blown-out  volcano  which  origin- 
ally occupied  the  site  of  the  present  Vesuvius,  in  the 
seventy-ninth  year  of  the  Christian  era.  This  exhib- 
ited the  immense  power  of  interest,  which  eats  up  the 
substance  of  original  value,  and  imtiringly  proceeds 
day  and  night  in  its  accretive  growth.  The  value  of 
this  coin,  which  I  estimated  at  an  intrinsic  value  of  ten 
cents,  although  worth  probably  a  little  more,  would 
amount  on  the  basis  of  doubhng  in  periods  of  eleven 
years  at  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  compounded, 
to  the  sum  of  S102.40;  call  it  $100  for  even  figures. 
From  the  year  79  to  1905  are  1826  years;  this 
divided  by  eleven  gives  a  quotient  of  165  periods 
of  eleven  years  each.  It  will  be  observed  that 
each  period  of  eleven  years  gives  an  addition  of 
three  ciphers  to  the  original  sum.  Therefore,  in  165 
periods  of  eleven  years  each,  there  would  be  495  ci- 
phers to  be  added  to  the  original  ten  cents,  giving  an 
amount  which  is  not  expressable  in  the  language  of 
arithmetic.  Roughly  square  the  circle  of  the  earth, 
which  cannot  be  done  accurately,  and  a  discrepancy  in 
amovint  of  the  size  of  the  moon  will  be  of  small  account. 


258  Reminiscences  of 

Estimate  then  the  cubic  miles  of  the  earth.  Then 
estimating  the  value  of  gold  at  $250  per  pound,  and  the 
weight  of  a  cubic  foot  at  1200  pounds,  you  can  then 
gain  the  value  of  a  cubic  mile  of  gold.  It  will  be 
found  that  it  would  require  a  good  many  hundreds  of 
earths  the  size  of  ours  of  solid  gold  to  pay  the  debt  of 
ten  cents  borrowed  in  the  year  79,  with  accumulated 
compound  interest  at  six  per  cent.  This  should  be  a 
warning  to  lads  and  girls  not  to  run  in  debt,  but  to  save 
their  money. 

The  sea  trout  fishing  in  the  Restigouche  and  Meta- 
pedia  and  at  the  estuaries  of  branches  of  these  streams 
I  found  very  attractive.  At  times  and  places  they 
would  fairly  swarm  in  numbers,  and  take  the  fly  with 
great  activity,  and  possessed  the  highest  gamy  quali- 
ties. The  weights  would  average  from  one  to  two 
pounds,  with  an  occasional  three-  or  four-pounder. 

There  has  been  some  discussion  lately  in  Eastern 
sporting  papers  as  to  the  identity  ot  the  sea  trout. 
Some  writers  have  agreed  that  they  were  distinct 
from  those  of  inland  streams,  and  this  has  been  main- 
tained with  much  force.  For  my  own  part  I  think 
there  is  no  difference.  All  fresh-water  trout  will  read- 
ily take  to  the  sea  if  they  can  have  access,  returning  to 
fresh- water  streams  for  spawning,  as  do  all  of  the  salmon 
family,  as  a  natural  necessity.  No  fish  undergoes  a 
more  rapid  transformation  than  the  trout  when  given 
a  change  of  locality,  not  only  in  color  and  form,  but  in 
flavor.  The  proportions  of  the  body  also  change  in 
salt  water.  The  body  grows  fuller,  while  the  head, 
not  increasing  with  the  general  form,  appears  smaller 
than  with  fresh-water  trout  of  similar  size.  The 
brighter  hues  of  fresh-water  life  fade  away,  and  the 


A  Sportsman  259 

white  silvery  color  increases.  The  flavor  of  sea-run 
trout  increases  in  delicacy  and  the  meat  in  curdiness. 
The  sea  trout  often  rise  and  take  the  fly  intended  for 
talmon  in  the  Canadian  rivers,  and  often  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  caster.  While  they  come  early  into  the 
fresh-water  streams,  they  remain  late  and  afford  much 
sport  in  the  lower  Canadian  rivers  after  the  close  of 
the  salmon  season,  and  I  have  frequently  lingered  late 
in  the  year  for  this  fishing,  which  is  multitudinous 
in  pleasant  features. 

No  waters  can  be  clearer  than  those  of  the  Resti- 
gouche,  which  are  of  limpid  purity,  beyond  any  I  have 
ever  seen.  The  flow  is  over  a  bed  where  all  alluvial 
matter  seems  to  have  been  washed  away,  and  after 
severe  storms,  when  the  volume  of  water  is  increased 
tenfold  over  the  normal  amount,  and  when  one  on  the 
shore  can  hear  the  rolling  of  the  bottom  stones  carried 
on  by  the  abnormal  rush,  the  water  is  still  of  trans- 
parent clearness.  On  one  reach  of  the  Restigouche  in 
the  autumn,  where  the  water  was  shallow  on  an  ex- 
tended area,  I  observed  from  my  canoe  an  occasional 
darting  of  trout ;  but  owing  to  the  clearness  of  the  day 
and  water,  I  could  not  raise  one  excepting  from  a  very 
long  cast,  which  was  tiresome,  and  if  I  let  my  fly  float 
down  the  current  upon  an  extended  line  it  was  apt  to 
sink  and  catch  on  the  bottom.  I  attached  two  goose 
quills  on  my  leader  within  a  foot  of  the  fly  to  float  it, 
and  let  out  my  line  a  hundred  feet  or  more,  from  which 
I  had  an  exciting  success. 


I N  California  there  are  many  attractions  for  the  sports- 
*■  men  in  the  endless  variety  of  game  birds  and  ani- 
mals, and  in  the  streams,  where  trout  are  plentiful,  and 


26o  Reminiscences  of 

in  the  sea,  where  the  profusion  of  game  fish  exceeds 
those  of  any  part  of  the  world. 

Several  fish  of  great  value  have  been  successfully 
introduced,  notably  the  striped  bass  and  the  shad, 
which  abound  plentifully  and  are  furinshed  at  low 
prices  in  the  market.  Also  the  black  bass,  which  seems 
to  adapt  itself  admirably  wherever  it  is  placed.  It  is 
questionable  if  the  carp  and  catfish,  now  plentiful,  are 
of  great  value,  and  the  carp,  growing  to  a  large  size,  are 
not  sought  for  as  an  attractive  food,  and  have  become 
a  sovirce  of  particular  annoyance  about  the  tide-over- 
flowed lands  having  a  large  area  adjoining  the  bay  of 
San  Francisco.  Upon  these  tide  lands  many  sporting 
clubs  were  established,  -where  ducks,  plover,  and  snipe 
gave  successful  bags. 

The  carp,  which  may  be  properly  designated  as  the 
grubbing  hog  of  fresh  waters,  living  largely  upon  the 
roots  and  growth  of  vegetable  life,  has  made  favorite 
feeding  grounds  of  these  semi-overflowed  tracts  and 
destroyed  the  snails  and  aquatic  insects  and  tender 
plant  life,  so  that  the  lands  have  become  largely  de- 
serted by  the  birds  formerly  swarming  on  them,  and 
many  of  the  club  sites  have  been  given  up. 

The  sport  of  hare  coursing  is  one  which  is  carried  on 
in  California  more  extensively  than  elsewhere  in  the 
world,  for  which  the  plentifulness  of  the  hares  and  the 
many  level  fields  give  encouragement. 

In  California  the  hares  called  jack  rabbits  are 
plentiful,  particularly  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State, 
consuming  such  an  amount  of  ground  feed,  and  young 
fruit  trees,  garden  vegetables,  and  grapes  in  the  vine- 
yards, as  to  be  a  great  nuisance,  necessitating  periodical 
drives  by  which  large  numbers  are  destroyed.     These 


A  Sportsman  261 

drives  take  place  by  concerted  action  over  large  tracts 
of  land,  without  dogs  or  guns,  by  the  assembled  people 
of  the  district.  An  enclosure  is  made  in  the  form  of 
a  sheep-shearer's  clipper;  a  circle  almost  enclosed,  with 
blades  or  arms  extending  out  for  an  indefinite  distance. 
The  beaters,  distributed  on  the  outside  of  a  number 
of  square  miles,  of  which  the  pen  and  extended  arms 
are  the  centre,  work  toward  it,  driving  all  the  hares, 
and  often  some  other  game  which  may  be  included, 
into  the  entrance  passage,  and  on  to  the  terminating 
circle  entrance,  where  all  are  securely  held  by  the  clos- 
ing of  the  narrowed  passage-way.  Incredible  as  it  may 
seem,  many  thousands  of  hares  are  thus  gathered  in  at 
a  single  drive,  which  are  easily  despatched  with  clubs. 
This  same  method  was  in  vogue  in  the  early  days  of 
Australia,  by  which  thousands  of  kangaroos  were 
penned  up  and  slaughtered  by  the  sheep  men,  and  the 
same  method  has  been  pursued  in  various  countries 
for  many  kinds  of  animals,  up  to  and  including  the 
African  buffaloes  and  elephants. 

Why  the  California  hares  have  not  so  plentifully 
increased  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  as  in  the 
southern  is  difficult  to  explain,  and  why  the  little  cot- 
ton-tailed rabbit  which  are  such  a  scourge  in  Australia 
have  not  increased  in  California,  where  they  were  intro- 
duced many  years  ago,  is  difficult  to  understand. 

Hare  coursing  is  one  of  the  oldest  sports  known, 
of  which  we  have  evidence  in  the  representations  on 
the  Egyptian  monuments  and  in  the  drawings  and  ref- 
erences in  Persian  literature,  and  those  shown  would 
indicate  that  but  little  change  had  occurred  in  the 
bodily  form  of  the  greyhound,  excepting  in  the 
fringing,  shaggy  hair,  which  now  has  its  representations 


262  Reminiscences  of 

in  the  Scotch,  Russian,  Danish,  and  other  types.  The 
old  Irish  greyhound  may  perhaps  be  considered  the 
largest  and  most  powerful  of  the  class,  and  a  match 
singly  for  the  wolf.  This  dog,  crossed  with  the  great 
Danish  dog  and  the  bloodhound,  has  produced  the 
powerful  stag  and  boar  hounds  now  seen.  The  Eng- 
lish greyhound,  however,  presents  the  highest  type  of 
speed,  docility,  and  beauty  applicable  for  hare  coursing, 
and  has  now  been  introduced  so  extensively  in  Cali- 
fornia as  to  be  plentiful  of  a  very  high  class. 

Having  attended  several  of  the  annual  hare  cours- 
ing meets  at  Waterloo,  England,  and  seen  some  of  the 
best  prize-winners  there,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  we 
have  in  California  equally  good  dogs,  and  I  think  the 
hares  in  California  are  equal,  if  not  superior,  in  speed  to 
the  English,  from  their  having  more  open  life,  with 
more  exposure  to  animals  which  prey  upon  them,  and 
consequent  activity.  They  are  identical  with  the  Eng- 
lish hare,  but  varj''  somewhat  in  color  from  climatic 
conditions. 

Hares,  when  pursued  by  the  greyhounds,  having 
their  observation  wholly  directed  toward  the  pursuer, 
from  their  orbital  sight,  will  frequently  run  directly  into 
a  fence  or  post  and  be  thrown  back  senseless,  or  di- 
rectly into  the  jaws  of  an  approaching  dog  from  an 
opposite  direction,  and  I  have  witnessed  two  occasions 
when  pursued  hares  going  at  full  speed  were  caught  up 
by  dogs  held  in  leash  by  a  man  standing  in  the  way, 
running  directly  into  the  jaws  of  the  leashed  dogs. 

I  had  one  two-year-old  greyhound  of  good  quali- 
ties, but  a  laggard  in  the  chase,  that  would  quit 
early  and  take  his  rest.  While  thus  sitting  one  day, 
his  running  mate  brought  around  a  hare  directly  upon 


A  Sportsman  263 

him,  which  he  reached  out  and  killed.  This  was  his 
first  blood,  and  excited  him  to  a  high  relish  for  the  sport, 
and  upon  his  next  run  he  became  the  leader  and 
after  that  one  of  the  best  and  foremost  in  pursuit. 

Many  hare-coursing  clubs  exist  in  the  State,  which 
have  annual  prolonged  meets  on  the  levels  of  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  which  have  prominent  notice,  and  one 
would  imagine  from  these  meets  so  extensively  at- 
tended, with  the  natural  excitement  following,  that  it 
was  in  reality,  as  it  is,  already  a  State  sport. 

For  some  years  I  have  maintained  a  pack  of 
these  beautiful  greyhounds,  which  have  individu- 
alities seemingly  equal  to  those  of  men.  How  one 
can  help  loving  dogs  I  cannot  imagine.  The  affection 
grows  for  them  the  more  it  is  given  opportunity,  and 
there  is  no  animal  so  near  and  dear  to  man  as  the  dog. 
What  affection  he  has !  How  affecting  his  earnestness 
and  fidelity,  his  courage  and  intelligence!  He  cannot 
be  debarred  from  heaven  if  there  is  any  for  us  to  obtain ; 
for  if  we  are  to  be  happy  there  and  have  our  wishes 
gratified,  where  will  be  the  dogs  we  shall  sigh  for,  com- 
panions of  our  happiest  days  on  earth?  Where  will 
my  dog  Paris  be  ? — my  lovely  red  setter,  who  at  two 
years  of  age  took  the  first  prize  in  field-working  class 
at  the  Baltimore  show,  who  attached  himself  to  me  for 
so  many  years  and  to  no  other ;  my  companion  in  the 
field,  in  the  boat  for  fishing,  and  who  seemed  heart- 
broken if  I  did  not  take  him  in  my  sailboat  when  I 
thought  it  was  too  rough  for  him.  How  quickly  when 
I  said  "Sail"  would  he  rush  for  my  boat  and  curl  up 
in  it  with  tenacious  right!  How  often  would  he  go 
overboard  in  the  lake,  when  his  smooth  feet  slipped 
on  the  deck  against  his  bracing  poise,  in  sudden  lee 


264  Reminiscences  of 

cant  of  fulness,  for  he  would  insist  upon  sniffing  on  the 
foredeck  to  windward!  He  could  swim  all  day,  ten 
miles  or  more  if  necessary  and  in  the  roughest  sea,  and 
I  never  felt  any  anxiety  when  he  slid  overboard ;  nor 
he,  for  he  well  knew  I  would  round  up  in  due  season 
and  scoop  him  up  into  the  boat  by  the  scruff  of  his 
neck,  when  he  would  seem  to  say,  after  his  water 
shake,  "All  right,  master,  let's  go  on." 

One  day  we  had  a  tough  time  of  it,  and  it  made  me 
smile  to  see  Paris  in  his  efforts  to  get  aboard,  when  it 
was  about  all  I  could  do  to  stay  there.  It  was  the  only 
go-over  of  my  boat  which  ever  occurred  in  thirty  years 
of  sailing  the  lake,  and  quite  my  own  fault,  which  I 
have  always  regretted  in  the  loss  of  prestige  with  my 
family,  from  some  of  whom  I  had  occasional  sugges- 
tions of  shipwreck,  when  the  sky  looked  threatening 
at  my  time  of  going  out,  for  there  was  little  fun  for  me 
to  go  out  in  a  kid-glove  breeze.  The  particular  day 
when  the  accident  occurred  was  an  unusual  one,  when 
some  dark  clouds  were  hanging  about  suspiciously,  and 
I  would  not  have  gone  out  sailing  under  normal  con- 
ditions. As  the  man  said  who  was  laying  stone  wall 
near  the  buckboard  route  as  we  were  driving  to  the 
lake  one  day,  where  the  stones  were  plentiful  enough, 
and  the  wall  was  already  of  elephantine  proportions, 
in  answer  to  the  inquiry  of  our  driver  why  he  was 
building  more  stone  wall  when  already  overstocked, 
' '  Oh,  when  I  feel  mad  I  go  out  and  lay  stone  wall ;  that 
rests  me!" 

In  somewhat  of  the  spirit  of  the  Berserker  rage  I 
felt  impelled  to  go  out.  I  knew  that  the  conditions 
looked  unusually  stonny,  somewhat  in  accord  with  my 
feelings.   I  know  not  why,  for  I  had  no  cause  for  agita- 


A  Sportsman  265 

tion,  excepting  a  natural  impellment  to  go  out.  My 
wife  and  daughter  had  gone  out  to  the  mouth  of  a 
brook  two  or  three  miles  below,  but  could  easily  land 
beneath  a  shelter  there,  with  their  experienced  guide, 
and  I  felt  no  anxiety  about  them.  After  getting  out 
a  mile  or  so,  I  saw  a  very  suspicious-looking  funnel- 
shaped  cloud  coming  toward  me  with  unusual  rapidity, 
and  I  saw  I  was  in  for  it,  though  it  somewhat  disturbed 
my  Berserker  courage.  I  had  time,  however,  to  let 
down  my  catboat-rigged  sail  and  put  three  reefs  in  it, 
and  none  too  soon.  Still  I  thought  I  might  weather 
the  severity  of  the  squall,  close-reefed  as  I  was;  but  the 
first  rush  of  the  wind  from  the  shore  over  the  lake, 
accompanied  by  a  torrent  of  rain,  lashing  the  water 
surface  to  foam,  indicated  that  I  would  be  helpless,  and 
as  I  held  up  my  bow  as  well  as  I  could,  a  sudden  drop 
of  wind,  as  it  seemed  to  me  falling  from  above,  bore  my 
boat  beneath  the  water,  but  not  deeply,  for  the  craft, 
although  carrying  half  a  ton  of  ballast,  had  four  air 
tanks  below,  sufficient  to  float  her,  and  I  had  little  idea 
of  giving  up  the  ship.  The  squall  in  its  severity  blew 
away  everything  movable,  cushions,  oars,  and  the  small 
boat  attached  to  the  larger,  for  no  small  boat  could 
have  sustained  itself  in  any  manner,  except  sunken  to 
a  level  with  the  water.  My  cap  blowing  away  left  my 
head  unprotected,  which  suffered  so  from  the  flying 
water,  pelting  me  as  if  I  were  in  a  hailstorm,  being 
taken  up  as  sand  and  small  stones  are  in  a  gale,  that  I 
was  obliged  to  tie  my  handkerchief  over  it,  and  my 
face  had  an  appearance  after  the  blow  as  if  it  had 
passed  the  night  with  a  swarm  of  mosquitoes. 

Poor  Paris  was  at  times  blown  far  away  from  me  de- 
spite his  rapid  swimming  qualities,  but  would  not  de- 


266  Reminiscences  of 

sert  me,  although  he  could  have  taken  a  route  for  shore 
with  comparative  ease.  At  times  he  would  be  out  of 
sight,  and  apparently  engulfed  by  the  waves,  giving  me 
much  anxiety ;  but  he  bobbed  up  serene  after  the  first 
severity  was  over,  but  could  gain  no  footing  with  me 
for  some  time,  as  my  boat  gave  me  a  treadmill  step,  and 
it  was  with  some  difficulty  that  I  could  keep  aboard  of 
her  against  the  wind  and  waves.  Lying  flat  upon  her 
side,  and  her  stem  higher  than  the  bow,  held  down  by 
the  way -forward  mast  and  sail,  flat  upon  the  water,  the 
wind  would  bring  around  the  stem,  until  the  wind 
would  catch  in  the  sail,  which,  lifting  and  filling  would 
turn  the  boat  over  on  its  opposite  side.  In  this  pleas- 
ant manoeuvre  the  boat,  water-logged,  would  sink 
bodily  a  few  feet  under  water  as  the  mast  came  up, 
falling  flat  on  the  opposite  side,  so  I  had  nothing  to  do 
but  keep  step,  and  clear  of  the  ropes,  and  wonder 
how  long  the  play  would  continue.  For  a  dozen  times 
this  continued,  when,  the  squall  abating,  I  had  a  com- 
fortable resting-place  on  the  side  of  the  boat  with  my 
lovely  Paris  by  my  side. 

The  wind  died  away,  and  the  sun  came  out  bright 
and  clear  with  many  apologies  for  its  previous  disap- 
pearance. But  dear  Paris  could  not  enjoy  his  pipe  as 
I  did,  for  he  had  never  cultivated  the  habit.  I  had 
taken  pains  at  the  first  outset,  when  I  saw  I  was  in  for 
it,  to  tuck  my  pipe  and  water-proof  pouch  and  match- 
box down  inside  under  my  collar,  and  buttoned  up  my 
rubber  coat  at  the  neck,  so  that  my  tobacco  was  dry. 
My  rubber  coat  would  have  been  blown  off  me  if 
I  had  not  tied  it  closely  around  my  waist  with  a 
small  rope  I  had  in  my  pocket,  after  losing  the  lower 
buttons,  I  would  have'  lost  them  all  but  for  the  rope. 


A  Sportsman  267 

I  have  seen  at  sea  a  buttoned-up  coat  stripped 
completely  from  a  man's  back  by  the  force  of  a  gale. 
Despite  my  soaking  and  treading  I  did  not  get  much 
wet  above  my  armpits.  In  an  hour  after,  sunning  on 
my  boat  with  my  pipe  under  way,  my  wife  came  along 
in  her  rowboat,  and  Paris  and  I  were  soon  snug  at 
camp,  and  I  experienced  no  ill-eflfects  from  the  pro- 
longed cold  bath,  although  it  occurred  in  the  cold 
water  of  the  spring,  soon  after  the  ice  had  gone  out. 

Poor  Paris  had  the  great  intelligence  so  con- 
spicuous in  dogs,  and  well  noted  the  preparations  I 
made  for  departure  from  camp,  when  he  would  cling 
to  my  heels,  and  make  strenuous  eiforts  to  get  under 
my  bed  at  night,  and  when  let  out,  would  haunt  my 
door  of  egress.  I  had  to  explain  the  necessity  of  my 
going,  and  with  a  fond  embrace  leave  him  in  a  closed 
room,  or  he  would  swim  the  lake  for  miles  after  the 
boat.  My  keeper  at  camp  would  tell  me  how  for  days 
he  would  sit  on  the  wharf  of  departure  for  my  return, 
and  no  boat  could  touch  in  but  what  he  was  on  the 
watch  for  me.  When  I  would  come,  and  I  was  sure  to 
find  him  at  the  wharf,  I  would  render  myself  as  un- 
observable  as  possible  until  I  landed,  but  if  the  breeze 
were  favorable  toward  him  he  would  know  of  my 
presence  long  before  I  landed,  and  plunge  into  the 
water  to  meet  me.  He  was  a  very  dignified  dog  and 
had  little  to  do  with  other  dogs,  after  the  first  round  of 
scrutiny,  when  he  would  retire,  and  if  approached  by 
other  dogs,  would  remove  himself  apart,  but  was  the 
leader  among  the  other  dogs  I  had,  over  whom  he 
seemed  to  consider  he  had  to  exercise  a  supervision. 

One  day  I  came  up  with  my  family,  fetching  a 
new   dog    belonging   to   my   daughter,    a   somewhat 


268  Reminiscences  of 

solid  fox  terrier,  Jack.  As  soon  as  he  landed  he 
pitched  into  an  inoflfensive  dachshund  of  most  peaceful 
disposition,  whose  cordial  recognition  of  our  arrival 
gave  offence  to  Jack,  and  gave  poor  Polico  a  rough 
tumble  before  our  interference  covdd  take  place. 
Paris  was  a  silent  witness  of  the  scene,  which  he  evi- 
dently highly  resented,  and  I  remarked  to  my  daughter 
that  he  would  probably  have  something  to  say  about 
it;  and  sure  enough,  for  we  had  hardly  gone  into  the 
house,  leaving  the  dogs  outside,  when  our  ears  were 
startled  with  a  canine  cry  of  great  distress,  and  upon 
going  out  we  saw  Paris  whirling  Jack  about  himself 
after  the  manner  of  the  revolving  blades  of  a  windmill 
in  a  brisk  breeze.  Our  arrival  was  the  signal  for 
dropping,  and  poor  Jack,  dizzy  from  his  rapid  revolu- 
tions, and  under  the  momentum  of  his  discharge,  ac- 
celerated by  rapid  locomotion,  in  whatever  direction  it 
might  prove  to  be,  brought  up  against  the  side  of  the 
house,  the  impact  rebound  of  which  threw  him  back 
several  feet.  Painful  to  him,  but  ludicrous  to  witness, 
and  most  salutary  in  effect.  Polico  was  never  more 
disturbed  by  Jack,  and  they  became  good  friends. 
And  with  Paris  soon  after  Jack  settled  down  in  pleasant 
relations,  though  for  some  days  it  was  amusing  to  wit- 
ness his  fixed  attention  on  that  powerful  machine  which 
had  given  him  a  lesson  in  orbital  revolution. 

Poor  Paris  died  of  old  age,  as  well  as  Jack,  and 
they  lie  buried  near  each  other,  beneath  a  neighboring 
tree,  and  my  daughter  and  I  often  ask  for  a  few  leaves 
or  sprigs  from  that  tree  to  be  sent  us  when  we  are  far 
away. 

No  wonder  the  heathen  hunter,  sought  by  zealous 
missionary  for  Christian  heaven,  on  learning  that  his 


A  Sportsman  269 

dogs  could  not  go  there,  said  he  did  not  want  to  gain 
it ;  or  that  the  man  experienced  in  Ufe's  disappointments 
while  not  loving  his  own  kind  less,  said,  "  I  find  the 
longer  I  live  the  more  I  like  dogs. 

Jack  was  as  faithftil  and  devoted  to  my  daughter 
as  Paris  to  me,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  would  sit 
and  regard  her  when  she  was  occupied  indicated  that 
he  considered  her  the  most  important  being  in  ex- 
istence. Fond  as  he  was  of  boating,  he  would  never 
go  unless  accompanied  by  his  mistress,  and  when  in- 
duced to  take  his  place  with  Paris,  in  expectation  of 
my  daughter's  going,  he  would  tumble  out  with  alacrity 
at  the  last  moment  on  finding  she  was  not  going. 
Jack  exhibited  his  great  fondness  for  my  daughter,  as 
well  as  his  dislike  of  my  camp-keeper,  from  his  taking 
him  away  to  the  kennel  enclosure  occasionally,  when 
we  were  going  off  upon  an  excursion  where  we  could 
not  well  take  him,  and  evinced  his  dislike  by  always 
barking  at  him  when  he  came  near,  with  an  occa- 
sional tug  at  the  bottom  of  his  trousers.  We  left  him 
several  winters  at  camp  when  going  to  California, 
though  sometimes  carr>'ing  him  out  with  us.  When 
left  he  had  from  necessity  to  make  friends  with  Cush- 
man,  after  mourning  for  some  days  for  his  mistress. 
During  these  periods  of  waiting  he  evinced  much  fond- 
ness for  his  keeper,  who  allowed  him  to  sleep  at  the 
foot  of  his  bed,  and  to  accompany  him  on  his  boating 
trips;  but  as  soon  as  my  daughter  returned,  his  hostility 
immediately  appeared,  and  Cushman  said  it  exhibited 
the  basest  ingratitude  he  ever  witnessed. 


2  70  Reminiscences  of 

T^HE  likes  and  dislikes  of  dogs  are  more  evident 
*  than  between  men,  without  attempt  at  conceal- 
ment. I  have  often  noticed  among  my  coursing  grey- 
hounds this  feature.  It  is  necessary  in  coupling  for  the 
chase  to  consider  this,  or  all  will  not  go  smoothly. 
In  the  excitement  of  expectation,  if  the  greyhoiinds 
are  not  well  mated,  they  will  fall  foul  of  each  other, 
and  in  feeding  it  is  often  necessary  to  separate  them. 
If  well  mated  they  will  advance  to  the  field  in  unison, 
and  a  well-mated  couple  will  work  together  with  a 
good  understanding,  the  one  falling  in  rear,  taking  an 
immediate  lead  on  the  doubling  hare,  as  never  but  a 
couple  are  freed  on  a  single  hare,  nor  but  one  hare  run 
at  a  time. 

It  is  amusing  to  see  the  intense  interest  taken  by 
the  dogs  upon  one  entering  the  kennel  area  with  the 
slips  for  coupling.  How  they  close  upon  you,  leaping 
over  each  other,  and  pressing  alongside  for  the  collar 
to  be  adjusted,  which  indicates  an  outing!  These 
collars  in  pairs  are  connected  with  a  short  chain  six 
inches  in  length,  from  which  proceeds  a  leather  slip 
of  seven  feet  with  a  handle  at  the  end  for  holding  the 
couple  of  dogs ;  and  strong  it  must  be,  for  the  impatient 
dogs  when  working  the  field,  and  witnessing  the  start 
of  a  hare  when  they  are  not  to  be  released  in  pur- 
suit, as  another  couple  may  have  already  been  given 
the  start,  will  pull  along  a  man  at  his  run,  and  if  not 
well  on  guard,  will  sometimes  pull  away  from  him, 
though  useless  for  overtaking  the  hare,  connected  as 
they  are.  The  leather  slips  connections  with  the  collars 
are  hollow,  having  inside  a  stout  cord  which  connects 
directly  with  the  fastenings  of  each  collar,  which 
upon    being    pulled,   instantly   releases   the   two   col- 


A  Sportsman  271 

lars,  which  fall  off,  and  the  two  dogs  are  free  for  the 
pursuit. 

Having  a  large  grain  field  of  several  thousand  acres 
on  my  place,  enclosed  about  by  a  fence  twelve  miles 
in  extent,  where  the  land  is  pretty  level,  but  rising  on 
two  sides  moderately  toward  the  centre,  and  where  the 
opportunity  of  witnessing  coursing  is  excellent,  has 
led  me  to  make  many  coursing  excursions  upon  it, 
extending  over  a  series  of  years.  The  plan  followed 
is  for  the  participators  to  pass  in  carriage  or  mounted 
along  one  of  the  roads,  flanked  upon  each  side,  well  at 
the  head,  by  a  man  with  a  couple  of  greyhounds  in 
leash.  The  dogs  are  alert  and  eager,  with  pricked-up 
ears  and  quick-turning  heads,  scanning  about  them 
for  sight  of  hare.  Their  impetuousness  is  difficult  to 
restrain,  and  no  feeble  or  inexperienced  hand  should 
manage  the  slips,  from  which,  collared,  the  dogs  may 
break  away  together,  or  be  too  hastily  freed. 

A  hare  bounds  suddenly  at  one  side,  from  its 
form,  and  the  nearest  couple  of  dogs  is  instantly 
freed,  and  go  off  like  arrows  in  pursuit.  Perhaps 
the  hare  has  a  good  start — five  or  six  hundred  feet — 
and  goes  off  in  that  bounding  manner  usual  when 
disturbed  by  shepherd  or  farmer's  dogs,  a  common 
occurrence,  not  enough  to  cause  alarm,  or  even  to 
give  a  dropping  of  the  ears,  which  ply  with  motion. 
Interim  those  arrow-like  forms  are  nearly  approach- 
ing, and  are  coming  on  with  before-unknown  speed, 
and  the  hare,  now  warned  by  its  projecting  eyes,  like 
those  of  the  frog,  which  turn  to  the  rear,  redoubles 
his  exertions  with  desperate  efforts.  But  all  in  vain. 
The  approach  is  faster  than  the  running  speed  of  a  man 
if  the  hare  was  still.     When  the  seizure  is  about  to 


2  72  Reminiscences  of 

take  place — for  it  is  seldom  that  one  dog  makes  it  on  the 
first  run — the  hare,  nimble  in  the  art  of  doubling,  turns 
from  his  course,  to  the  right  or  left,  while  the  leading  pur- 
suer, impelled  by  the  impetus  of  his  greatest  speed,  is  car- 
ried on  ahead,  giving  the  hare  a  gain  in  distance.  Herein 
comes  the  play  of  the  second  dog,  one  of  which  is  likely 
to  be  in  the  rear,  who  then  takes  the  lead  in  pursuit. 
The  first  dog  has  gained  a  point  in  turning  the  hare, 
and  may,  if  of  superior  speed,  overtake  the  second  dog 
and  again  secure  another  point  in  turning  the  hare, 
and  may  perhaps  make  the  kill,  or  secure  all  the  points 
from  his  superiority,  and  there  may  be  a  dozen  of  hare 
doublings  before  the  kill. 

It  would  seem  as  if  the  greyhovmd  were  made 
especially  for  the  outrunning  of  hare,  so  perfect  is 
his  build  and  adaptation,  and  it  is  a  rare  sport  to 
see  his  pursuit  of  the  fleet  hare,  which  is  immune  in 
its  speed  against  any  other  animal,  though  coyotes, 
which  have  great  speed,  though  less  than  the  grey- 
hound, have  been  often  observed  iiinning  the  hare 
in  the  same  manner  as  followed  by  a  pair  of  grey- 
hounds. In  two  instances  I  have  been  present  when 
a  coyote  was  started  up  and  soon  brought  to  bay, 
for  the  greyhounds  will  take  after  anything  that 
runs,  excepting  horses  and  cattle,  and  woe  betide 
the  farmer's  dog  straying  across  the  field,  with 
the  hounds  fresh  on,  especially  in  force,  as  we 
let  them  run  loose  together  on  the  way  home  from 
coursing. 

In  fetching  a  coyote  up,  the  greyhounds  will  tackle, 
and,  if  strong  dogs,  can  hold  until  more  dogs  come 
up,  which  are  liberated  in  such  event,  and  together 
will  wear  the  coyote  out,   receiving  many  wounds, 


A  Sportsman  273 

however,  and  in  the  two  events  I  witnessed  it  was  neces- 
sar>'  to  give  the  coyotes  some  final  blows;  for  the 
coyote  is  a  tough  animal  and  most  tenacious  of  life, 
and  if  full  grown  can  put  up  a  prolonged  fight,  and  I 
have  seen  them  when  surrounded  and  bitten  up  for 
half  an  hour  still  give  fight. 

I  have  one  in  captivity,  which  was  secured  in  his 
infancy  by  being  dug  out  from  his  maternal  home,  and 
was  brought  up  with  a  litter  of  collie  dog  puppies  at 
the  farmhouse,  and  evinced  a  most  friendly  and  play- 
ful disposition. 

The  coyote's  natural  shyness  was,  however,  shown 
in  a  degree  over  that  of  his  puppy  companions,  al- 
though he  would  allow  himself  to  be  petted  by  those 
who  gave  him  care  and  food.  He  was  allowed  to 
run  about  the  farmhouse  free  with  his  young  com- 
panions, but  indicated  a  much  keener  appetite,  and 
became  somewhat  of  a  nuisance  in  the  dining-room, 
where  he  was  allowed  an  occasional  privilege.  His 
disposition  was  very  playful,  and  his  gambols  and 
pranks  were  most  amusing. 

As  he  grew  older  and  larger  he  ran  freely  about 
with  the  collie  dogs,  and  even  rendered  aid  in  driv- 
ing the  sheep  about  with  them,  and  in  one  notable 
case,  where  a  large  flock  were  driven  some  twenty 
miles  to  another  range,  indicated  considerable  intelU- 
gence;  but  alas  for  confiding  expectations!  that  very 
night  upon  arrival  at  the  destination  he  signalized 
himself  by  visiting  a  neighboring  ranch,  and  extin- 
guished the  life  out  of  sixteen  fat  turkeys.  Not 
being  immediately  detected  as  the  destroyer  he  sup- 
plemented his  exploit  the  following  night  by  slaying 
nearly  an  additional  score. 


2  74  Reminiscences  of 

This  escapade  led  to  his  discovery,  and  his  being 
chained  up,  as  altogether  a  too  expensive  sheep- 
herder,  and  his  ignominious  return  was  illustrated 
with  a  collar  and  chain  and  a  free  ride  in  the  sheep 
wagon. 

The  natural  taste  for  killing  and  fresh  blood,  and 
his  great  success  in  the  turkey  line,  were  unfortunate 
for  our  pet,  for  as  the  salmo  salar  fisherman  returns 
with  pleasure  to  the  capture  of  the  Fontinalis,  so  did 
Dingo  yield  to  the  attractions  of  the  barnyard  fowl 
at  home;  and  thus  forever  closed  the  youthful  episode 
of  his  free  range,  and  since,  with  the  brief  intervals 
of  breaking  away  from  his  moorings,  he  has  polished 
the  hard  ground  from  a  central  stake  over  an  area 
of  some  forty  feet  in  width,  as  his  bright  chain  well 
attests. 

Adjacent,  and  sufficiently  near  for  a  hand-shaking, 
lives  a  large  raccoon,  similarly  attired  with  collar 
and  chain,  and  both  are  on  friendly  terms,  excepting 
at  feed  time,  when  the  experience  of  Jack,  the  'coon, 
has  induced  him  to  insist  upon  having  his  meals 
served  separately. 

This  system  applies  also  to  the  dogs,  including  a 
bull-dog  and  stag-hound,  which  suffer  injury  if  too 
intent  upon  the  development  of  their  sniffing  quali- 
ties about  the  lunch  counter,  and  the  cr\'-  of  distress 
which  occasionally  goes  forth  from  the  neighborhood 
of  the  cold  meats  is  far  more  amusing  to  the  looker-on 
than  to  the  wailing  canine  musician. 

In  fact  Dingo,  now  fully  developed  and  most  ex- 
pert in  battle,  is  ready  for  a  scrap  at  all  times.  It  is 
his  great  enjoyment  and  he  exercises  his  ingenuity 
to  get  dogs  within  the  fatal  circle  of  his  domain.     He 


A  Sportsman  275 

will  play  with  those  who  have  the  honor  of  his  friend- 
ship, but  woe  betide  any  passing  stray  dogs,  or  those 
he  is  unfriendly  with. 

The  passing  strange  dog,  be  he  large  or  small,  is 
sure  to  become  the  matrix  of  Dingo's  cast,  and  may 
at  exit  well  murmur  the  reminding  words  of  Addison : 
"Nature  formed  me  of  her  softest  mold." 

As  a  scrapper  Dingo  is  the  Jeffries  of  his  arena, 
and  will  quit  his  food  quickly  for  a  rough  and  tumble, 
and  although  there  are  many  dogs  which  could  van- 
quish him,  he  has  never  yet  encountered  a  canine  of 
his  mettle  and  power. 

Almost  invariably,  when  he  has  broken  his  chain, 
he  has  immediately  celebrated  his  freedom  by  an 
assault  upon  some  one  of  the  collies,  and,  while  sev- 
eral will  join  in  mutual  defence,  he  will  by  his  rapidity 
and  dexterous  action  clear  the  field  in  short  order.  He 
will  then  return  to  the  kitchen  door  for  larder  filling, 
and  allow  himself  to  be  secured. 

He  has  never  bitten  any  person.  As  to  canine 
antagonists,  he  has  often  been  seized  at  the  back  of 
his  neck  by  fighting  dogs,  but  invariably  upon  being  so 
seized  has  turned  his  head  with  wonderful  celerity,  en- 
abling him  to  seize  the  lower  jaw  of  the  attacking  dog  by 
a  grip  of  his  own,  which  seems  to  be  very  discourag- 
ing to  the  latter,  judging  by  the  instant  hold-breaking. 

Only  once  have  we  seen  Dingo  nonplused  and 
distressed.  This  was  on  an  occasion  when,  in  a  night 
foray,  we  had  secured  a  very  large  female  raccoon, 
which  was  secured  alive  by  noosing  out  of  an  old 
hollow  tree  where  she  had  a  few  }^oung  kittens,  too 
young  for  saving.  She  was  wild  and  ferocious,  and  had 
to  be  bound  very  securely. 


276  Reminiscences  of 

As  Dingo  was  so  ready  and  eager  for  scraps,  the 
'coon  was  brought  out  to  him  the  following  day  and 
staked  within  easy  limit,  and  when  let  go,  flew  for 
him,  who  was  equally  eager,  and  immediately  fol- 
lowed an  encounter  of  sanguinary  ferocity  difficult  to 
describe.  A  'coon,  protected  by  its  bountiful  fur  and 
rapidity  of  movement,  is  more  than  a  match  for  any 
ordinary  dog,  and  in  weight — in  this  instance — was 
much  more  than  Dingo's,  but  the  latter  was  more 
alert  than  the  'coon,  and  provided  with  larger  teeth 
and  probable  tenacity.  Still,  the  'coon  was  fighting 
for  life  and  the  loss  of  offspring,  while  Dingo  was 
fighting  simply  for  fun,  and  he  soon  obtained  all  he 
wanted,  although  no  white  feather  existed  among 
his  holdings,  and  he  worked  himself  up  into  a  great 
fury. 

It  was  soon  apparent  that  it  would  be  a  long-drawn 
contest,  and  for  fear  that  Dingo  might  in  the  end 
receive  serious  injury,  which  looked  probable,  he  was 
withdrawn  from  reach,  although  desperately  deter- 
mined. That  night  the  'coon  broke  away,  and  has 
since  been  missing. 

Dingo  seems  never  quiet,  and  is  always  on  the 
move  about  his  arena,  circling  around  incessantly, 
and,  although  having  a  house  of  rest  and  refuge,  seems 
never  to  occupy  it  or  to  be  found  sleeping. 

Often  in  the  night  his  peculiar  wild  call  breaks 
out  in  answer  to  other  distant  wild  coyote  calls,  but  if 
he  breaks  away  by  the  breaking  of  his  chain  he  is 
always  found  about  again,  and  is  secured. 

The  coyotes  are  the  great  pest  of  the  sheep  busi- 
ness, and  our  loss  from  them  annually  amounts, 
over  a  long  period,  to  from  200  to  300  head,  although 


A  Sportsman  277 

recently,  by  having  a  remarkably  clever  hunter  and 
trapper  our  losses  are  less. 

We  suffer  correspondingly  from  adjoining  town 
dogs,  which  are  constantly  shot  at  sight,  and  buried 
without  monuments  or  head-stones.  Signs  are  up 
warning  against  fetching  on  dogs,  but  the  latter  pay 
little  heed  to  it  and  suffer  in  consequence.  No  matter 
how  many  coyotes  are  killed  they  never  cease  coming 
on,  and  sometimes  four  or  five  a  week  are  destroyed. 

They  are  especially  plentiful  at  lambing  time  in 
March,  and,  although  they  will  not  then  often  attack 
full-grown  sheep  unless  they  are  disabled  and  sepa- 
rated from  the  flocks,  are  particularly  partial  to  young 
lambs.  The  mother  will  face  about  toward  the  coyote, 
and  as  soon  as  she  is  distracted  off  a  little,  the  coyote 
will  dash  in  and  carry  off  the  lamb.  In  the  lambing 
season  the  ewes  are  gathered  loosely  about  in  selected 
localities,  and  herded  night  and  day,  when  occasional 
fires  are  kept  burning  at  night  and  lighted  lanterns 
are  hung  about,  which  excite  the  suspicions  of  the 
coyote,  as  he  is  very  wary  and  cunning,  and  if  left  to 
his  own  free  action,  will  destroy  six  or  a  dozen  lambs 
to  one  of  his  eating. 

The  coyotes  can  only  be  trapped  by  the  exercise  of 
great  care,  as  they  are  more  cunning  and  suspicious 
than  foxes,  but  with  trap  and  poisoned  meat  are 
tolerably  well  kept  down,  and  are  now  of  less  damage 
than  formerly. 

Wild-cats,  though  quite  scarce,  will  occasionally 
appear,  and  one  cat  will  frequently  kill  a  dozen  lambs 
before  being  itself  killed. 

The  great  American  bald  eagle  is  also  a  destroyer 
of  young  lambs,  but  on  appearance  can  generally  be 


278  Reminiscences  of 

trapped  by  putting  steel  traps  on  elevated  poles  where 
the  eagles  alight  to  survey  the  situation,  and,  although 
they  often  get  away  with  a  lamb  or  two,  are  pretty 
sure  to  be  trapped. 

If  undisturbed,  they  will  do  much  injury  upon  a 
sheep  ranch,  especially  at  lambing  time,  when  an 
eagle  will  easily  carry  off  a  lamb  a  few  pounds  in 
weight,  and  will  often  attack  full-grown  sheep,  almost 
invariably  striking  the  latter  at  the  back  or  side  of  the 
neck. 

Three  golden  eagles  lately  attacked — acting  in 
concert — a  small  flock  of  separated  sheep,  and  before 
the  herder  could  drive  them  away  succeeded  in  seri- 
ously wounding  half  a  dozen,  three  of  which  died  the 
same  day,  and  the  balance  within  a  week  afterwards, 
either  from  the  direct  wounds  or  the  almost  invari- 
able blood  poisoning  which  seems  to  follow  when  struck 
by  the  talons  of  the  eagle. 

The  same  result  often  occurs  with  human  beings 
when  struck  by  eagle  talons,  and  two  of  our  men  in 
past  years,  when  taking  eagles  from  traps,  were 
wounded,  one  through  the  hand  and  the  other  in 
the  thigh,  and  both  were  many  days  under  the  care 
of  a  physician  for  treatment. 

The  one  struck  in  the  thigh  had  killed,  as  he  sup- 
posed, a  trapped  bald-headed  eagle,  when  his  atten- 
tion was  drawn  to  the  mate  of  the  trapped  one,  which 
swooped  upon  him  several  times  most  dangerously ;  and 
while  engaged  in  warding  it  oflf  with  his  gun,  he  was 
hard  struck  by  the  dying  eagle,  which  firmly  imbedded 
its  talons  in  his  thigh,  from  which  he  could  not  dis- 
engage himself,  and  while  so  held  succeeded  in  shoot- 
ing the  mate. 


A  Sportsman  279 

Afterward  he  was  compelled  to  cut  off  the  striking 
eagle's  leg  and  carry  it  so  to  town,  where  it  was  re- 
moved, and  for  a  long  time  he  was  laid  off  from  work, 
and  under  medical  care. 

There  are  three  classes  of  eagles  which  attack 
sheep:  the  bald-headed,  the  large  gray,  and  the 
golden,  or  black.  The  latter  is  smaller  than  the 
first  two,  stretching  from  wing  tips  about  five  feet, 
while  the  two  first  so  stretch  to  an  extent  of  from 
six  to  eight  feet. 

The  attack  first  referred  to  was  by  three  golden 
eagles  together.  The  method  of  attack  is  to  fly 
over  the  retreating  sheep,  and  from  a  height  of  about 
thirty  feet  make  a  swoop  down  at  the  neck  of  the 
sheep,  and  repeat  such  attacks  until  the  sheep  falls 
over,  when  the  eagle  descends  and  makes  quick  work 
in  rending  for  his  ravenous  apetite. 

In  this  case  of  attack  by  the  three  eagles,  their 
attacks  were  not  confined  to  a  single  sheep,  so  that 
half  a  dozen  were  made  victims,  although  the  eagles 
by  being  followed  and  shot  at  by  the  herder  failed  to 
secure  one  for  eating.  One  of  the  sheep  which  soon 
died  had  a  large  piece  of  flesh  and  skin  torn  from  its 
neck  down  to  the  shoulder  blade  and  its  jugular  vein 
cut,  and  quickly  bled  to  death.  The  eagles  flew  away, 
upon  being  disturbed,  to  some  neighboring  trees,  but 
were  too  wary  to  allow  approach  for  shooting.  The 
herder,  however,  being  supplied  with  medicine  pills, 
i.  e.  str\'chnine,  of  potent  power  for  eagles,  dogs,  and 
coyotes — one  half  grain  for  the  first,  one  grain  for  the 
second,  and  two  grains  for  the  third — soon  had  a  large 
hare  killed,  which  he  cut  up  into  numerous  savory 
portions,   all  liberally  impregnated  with   destructive 


28o  Reminiscences  of 

stimulants,  which  he  exposed  at  a  favorable  place,  and 
removed  himself  to  a  considerable  distance  where  he 
could  observe  the  scene.  This  would  have  been  a  use- 
less effort  for  the  bald-headed  or  gray  eagles,  which  are 
not  known  to  return  to  feed  a  second  time  upon  a 
carcass  once  fed  upon,  or  when  disturbed  in  feeding, 
but  the  golden  or  black  eagles  will  return,  and  are  often 
poisoned  or  trapped  from  returning.  In  this  instance, 
after  some  time  had  elapsed,  the  three  eagles  that  had 
occasioned  so  much  destruction  were  seen  to  alight, 
one  after  the  other,  at  the  poisoned  meat,  which  was  all 
consumed  by  them. 

After  this,  and  their  circling  about  in  the  sky,  one 
was  observed  to  fall  to  the  ground,  and  was  found  dead, 
while  the  others  disappeared  in  the  distance  and  were 
not  seen  afterwards,  and  undoubtedly  died  from  the 
poison. 

While  animals  have  a  particularly  keen  sense  of 
smell,  birds  are  much  lacking  in  this  respect,  and  would 
seem  often  to  be  entirely  without  it,  and  the  cunning 
crow  is  easily  deceived  by  whisk\--soaked  com,  and 
becomes  so  senseless  as  to  be  caught  by  hand,  and  all 
kinds  of  birds  are  easily  poisoned  by  strychnined 
grain. 

But  birds  make  up  for  this  deficiency  by  an  ap- 
parently abnormal  keenness  of  sight,  as  witnessed 
particularly  in  the  buzzards,  which,  flying  at  a  great 
height — so  high  as  to  be  invisible  to  human  sight, — are 
speedily  attracted  by  an  exposed  dead  animal,  even 
in  a  rock}^  field,  where  surrounding  objects  bear  some 
resemblance  to  the  dead  animal. 

The  eagle  and  hawk  are  very  expert  on  the  wing, 
and  the  hawk  lives  largely  upon  birds  of  quick  motion, 


A  Sportsman  281 

caught  on  the  wing  in  the  open,  where  they  cannot 
gain  the  shelter  of  trees  or  bushes. 

The  eagle  is  often  observed  swooping  upon  the 
fish -hawk,  carrj^ng  off  its  prey  in  mid-air,  frightening 
the  latter  to  drop  its  burden,  and  catching  the  coveted 
prize  before  it  falls  to  the  ground. 

Our  herders  have  often  observed  the  eagle  chas- 
ing a  hare  in  the  open  fields,  and  catching  it  in  its 
clutches  despite  its  rapid  doublings  which  so  often 
trick  an  overtaking  greyhound,  and  often  while 
chasing  on  the  doublings  will  strike  over  the  hare 
senseless  with  a  wing  blow. 

It  has  been  amusing  to  witness  the  eagle  chasing 
a  hare  which  has  gained  a  fence  line  for  protection, 
passing  through  the  line  from  side  to  side  more  rapidly 
than  the  eagle  can  shift  over,  by  which  the  hare  has 
been  seen  to  follow  a  fence  line  for  a  mile  or  so,  and 
consume  an  hour  of  time,  before  a  favoring  clump  of 
bushes,  or  trees,  or  brush  heap  afforded  safe  shelter. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  received  notice  of 
two  more  sheep  being  killed  by  eagles,  which  have 
been  unusually  plentiful  this  season,  and  we  have 
lately  killed  about  fifteen. 

The  coyotes  have  also  been  plentiful,  and  of  late 
we  have  averaged,  poisoning  and  trapping,  five  or 
six  a  month;  and  despite  their  plentifulness,  we  have 
suffered  but  lightly  from  them,  owing  to  the  watch- 
fulness of  the  herders,  and  now  that  the  lambing 
season  has  commenced  from  about  seven  thousand 
ewes,  we  give  particular  care. 

This  region  on  the  foothills  of  the  mountains, 
twenty  miles  north  from  Sacramento,  so  mild  and 
pleasant  in  winter  and  free  from  ice  and  snow,  is  one 


282  Reminiscences  of 

where  myriads  of  birds  congregate  from  the  inclem- 
ent regions  north — in  fact,  one  where  citrus  products 
are  grown  in  perfection,  and  where  deciduous  fruits 
are  ripened  eariier  than  elsewhere  in  the  United  States, 
and  early  peaches  and  cherries  are  forwarded  to 
Eastern  markets  from  about  here  in  May. 

Thousands  of  robins,  larks,  doves,  quail,  black- 
birds, linnets,  sparrows,  and  an  endless  variety  of  small 
birds  abound,  large  numbers  of  which  remain  through 
the  year. 

The  quail,  all  of  the  large  mountain  variety  with 
head  plumes,  do  not  lie  very  well  to  the  dog,  and  fly 
very  swiftly,  but  fall  readily  enough  to  the  quick 
shot. 

Duck  and  geese  are  also  plentiful,  and  the  latter 
have  to  be  more  or  less  herded  ofiE  the  grain  fields 
in  winter,  where  they  alight  often  in  large  numbers, 
and  if  not  disturbed  will  destroy  many  acres  of  grow- 
ing grain  by  feeding  on  and  pulling  out  the  young 
sprouts. 

I  often  take  my  greyhounds,  coupled  without  slips, 
to  accompany  me  when  driving  or  riding,  which  they 
enjoy  very  much,  and  give  pleasure  in  the  contem- 
plation. They  will,  however,  diverge  occasionally  for 
a  speeding  hare,  which  they  cannot  overtake  when 
coupled,  and  will  soon  return  from,  and  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  a  flock  of  sheep  while  passing  through  or  by  them 
while  observed ;  but  let  them  once  get  out  of  sight  with 
an  intervening  hill,  or  far  in  the  rear,  near  a  flock  of 
sheep,  and  they  will  go  for  them  as  wild  wolves 
might,  and  if  not  interfered  with  will  mutilate  dozens 
of  them  in  short  time.  And  think  of  Jack,  my  daughter's 
gentle  fox  terrier,  who  fell  back  with  the  greyhounds 


A  Sportsman  283 

one  day  when  they  were  coupled,  as  usual,  and  who 
lagged  so  that  I  went  back  with  suspicions  of  mischief 
and  found  Jack  as  busy  as  any,  holding  down  a  large 
ewe,  which  he  was  evidently  exerting  himself  to  dis- 
embowel. I  gave  all  big  whacks  with  my  stout  stick, 
and  knocked  Jack  senseless  with  a  blow  on  the  head, 
which  I  terribly  regretted,  as  I  thought  I  had  killed 
him.  But  he  revived  after  some  time,  and  when  I  got 
the  dogs  back  to  the  carriage,  where  my  wife  and 
daughter  were,  I  observed  that  Jack  seemed  rather 
groggy,  and  lifted  him  for  his  mistress  to  carry,  remark- 
ing that  he  appeared  exhausted  with  his  run.  Jack 
never  mentioned  the  occurrence,  nor  did  I  to  my  daugh- 
ter until  some  time  afterwards,  when  she  forgave  me, 
since  Jack  appeared  as  lively  as  ever. 

One  of  my  greyhounds,  and  one  of  the  fleetest,  was 
so  beautiful,  graceful  and  affectionate,  that  we  made 
a  house  dog  of  her,  Penelope  by  name,  whose  poses  by 
the  fireside  were  pictures  of  elegance,  and  we  were  all 
very  proud  of  her,  seemingly  such  a  perfection  of  gentle- 
ness and  intelligence.  She  had  the  full  run  of  the  prem- 
ises, and  never  seemed  to  stray  off  far.  One  day  a 
shepherd  reported  that  she  had  made  her  appearance 
in  the  early  morning  among  his  flock  of  lambs  and 
killed  eight  or  ten  of  them.  We  considered  this  very 
improbable,  although  his  description  of  the  killing  dog, 
which  he  was  not  able  to  get  a  shot  at,  corresponded 
to  that  of  Penelope.  I  interviewed  her  upon  the  sub- 
ject, but  one  glance  of  her  gentle,  loving  eye  dissipated 
any  suspicions  which  had  been  aroused,  and  I  told  the 
shepherd  he  must  have  been  mistaken,  and  that  he  must 
get  his  gvm  work  in  on  the  next  killing.  When  I  arose 
the  next  morning  I  found  the  shepherd  waiting  for  me. 


284  Reminiscences  of 

saying  eleven  more  lambs  had  been  killed  during  the 
past  night  and  in  the  early  morning,  and  that  he  was  xm- 
able  to  get  a  shot  at  the  killing  dog,  but  had  distinctly 
traced  it  to  my  house,  and  that  dog,  lying  now  so  peace- 
fully by  the  fire,  was  the  one.  Could  it  be  possible? 
I  examined  Penelope,  and  alas !  on  her  breast  in  several 
places  were  blood  marks  scarcely  yet  dried,  as  well  as 
woolly  shreds,  which  too  plainly  indicated  her  guilt. 
Penelope  again  denied  the  accusation  with  outstretched 
paws  and  reproachful  glance,  but  had  afterwards  to  be 
relegated  to  the  kennel  enclosure. 

Another  performance  of  Penelope  had  occurred, 
which  certainly  exhibited  a  reasoning  power  which  we 
had  overlooked,  from  its  ingenuity  and  amusing  charac- 
ter, of  slight  importance  compared  with  lamb  killing. 
Having  the  free  range  of  the  house,  she  discovered  tliat 
the  dinner  table  had  a  bread  roll,  wrapped  about  by  a 
napkin,  adjoining  each  dinner  plate — a  tempting  morsel 
for  her — and  during  the  desertion  of  the  dining  ;md 
adjoining  sitting  room  she  availed  herself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  one  of  the  rolls — just  one  each  day, 
and  no  more.  The  regular  shortage  of  a  roll  each  day 
at  dinner  occasioned  remark,  to  which  the  butler  as- 
serted that  he  regularly  supplied  the  full  complement. 
This  occurring  so  repeatedly  gave  some  wonderment 
at  the  mysterious  disappearance  of  a  single  roll  each 
day,  as  all  asserted,  each  of  us,  we  were  not  the 
cause.  This  brought  it  up  to  the  butler,  who  put  him- 
self, concealed,  one  day  before  dinner,  where  he  could 
view  the  table,  and  was  much  surprised  to  detect 
Penelope  in  the  act  (when  she  supposed  the  coast  was 
clear)  of  deftly  removing  one  of  the  rolls,  which  she 
carried  into  an  adjoining  room,  and  quickly,  as  she 


A  Sportsman  285 

supposed,  destroyed  all  evidence,  and  then  resumed  her 
pensive  and  innocent  attitude  in  front  of  the  open  fire, 
her  favorite  resting  place. 

WTiile  town  and  farmers'  dogs  of  all  kinds  will  attack, 
mutilate  and  prey  upon  sheep,  even  their  supposed 
best  friend,  the  collie,  brought  up  with  them,  will  do 
the  same  thing — not  with  his  master's  own  flock,which 
he  will  guide  and  protect  with  his  life,  but  the  sheep 
belonging  to  a  neighbor,  which  the  collie  evidently  con- 
siders beyond  the  pale  of  his  protection.  This  is  a 
fact  well  known  to  sheepmen,  and  denotes  the  inborn 
tendency  towards  destrvictive  inclinations  bom  in  so 
many  animals — and  by  no  means  lacking  in  the  supe- 
rior man,  who  has  this  inclination  largely  developed, 
however  guarded  it  may  be  by  reasoning — as  indicated 
by  the  collie  dog  in  selecting  a  foreign  flock  of  sheep 
for  his  blood-craving  taste,  without  sacrifice  of  his 
home  loyalty. 

And  who  shall  say  that  animals  are  devoid  of  rea- 
soning powers,  or  that  dogs  and  the  most  intelligent 
animals  are  wanting  in  this  respect?  Admitting  that 
such  is  a  fact,  it  is  for  consideration  if  (in  the  inevitable 
progress  of  evolution,  which,  by  the  laws  of  nature, 
is  irresistible)  it  is  not  reasonable  to  believe  that  ad- 
vancement may  be  made  in  developing  that  sense, 
as  indicated  in  the  superior  animal,  man,  whose  source 
may  have  been  at  some  period  more  obscure  than 
shown  at  the  present  time  by  the  inferior  animals. 
The  period  of  man's  evolution  must  have  been  very 
long,  consuming,  possibly,  many  hundreds  of  centuries, 
and  it  is  only  within  a  very  few  thousand  years  that  he 
reached  the  level  of  intelligence  requisite  for  him  to 
mark  rough  hieroglyphics  upon  the  face  of  time.    But  he 


286  Reminiscences  of 

was  endowed  with  remarkable  physical  advantages 
over  any  other  existing  animals,  particularly  in  the 
essential  of  speech,  and  in  the  flexible  arm  and  hand, 
without  which  his  inferiority,  compared  with  his  present 
position,  would  be  most  striking.  Added  to  this  his 
long  life,  surpassing  that  of  others,  gave  ample  op- 
portunity for  the  storing  of  experience  and  its  trans- 
mission largely  to  succeeding  generations. 

And  the  all-important,  animated  element  of  soul, 
an  existence  of  intelligence  and  reason, — by  what 
adducible  evidence  shall  it  be  denied  to  other  intelli- 
gent animals? 

The  dog  has  been  the  companion  of  man  from  the 
earliest  historical  records,  and  probably  long  before, 
and  has  in  that  experience  gained  advantages  not 
allotted  to  other  dumb  animals,  and,  despite  his  want 
of  articulator}'  organs,  fully  understands  many  words 
addressed  to  him  in  various  languages,  and  if  he  had 
the  power  of  speech  would  certainly  respond  in  answer, 
so  that  his  failure  to  do  so  is  wholly  from  a  physical 
defect. 

I  have  witnessed  man}^  remarkable  instances  of 
hisi  intelligence,  and  I  am  reminded  particularly  of  the 
extraordinary  abUity  of  the  dog  Bozzie,  a  collie  that 
belonged  to  Mr.  Clason,  of  Chicago.  The  owner — a 
gentleman  of  position  and  character — ^has  given  much 
attention  to  breeding  collies  of  superior  intelligence, 
and  had  in  Bozzie  one  of  such  surprising  ability  that  one 
can  hardly  credit  the  results.  This  dog,  bred  from  a 
line  most  intelligent,  exhibited  in  puppyhood  such  re- 
markable docility  and  alertness  that  her  owTier  gave 
particularly  patient  teaching,  resulting  in  marvellous 
feats  which  would  make  one  doubt  his  own  senses. 


A  Sportsman  287 

Bozzie  was  familiar  with  the  alphabet  and  numerals, 
and  would  spell  out  correctly  almost  any  simple  words, 
and  many  of  two  syllables,  and  do  simple  sums  in 
addition,  subtraction  and  division,  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  trickery,  and  while  her  master  is  out  of  her 
presence.  Being  given,  say,  the  number  of  seven,  for 
instance,  to  add  two  and  deduct  three,  Bozzie  immedi- 
ately gives  six  barks ;  and  how  much  are  five  and  three  ? 
when  eight  barks  are  quickly  given;  divide  ten  by  two, 
and  five  barks  are  returned.  The  element  of  telepathy 
or  mind-reading  is  now  a  subject  of  scientific  inquiry, 
and  a  controversy  is  now  going  on  concerning  it  in 
some  of  the  newspapers.  Bozzie  appears  to  be  an 
adept  in  this  particular,  and  if  a  number  is  written  on 
a  piece  of  paper — not  to  her  master  but  concealed  by 
the  writer — she  will  immediately  give  the  number  of 
barks. 

Mr.  Clason  some  time  ago  dined  by  invitation  with 
President  Roosevelt  at  Washington  and  was  accom- 
panied by  Bozzie,  who  excited  the  wonderment  of  the 
Roosevelt  family  by  giving  the  ages  of  the  President's 
children,  by  barks,  correctly,  upon  being  asked  by  each 
in  turn,  the  questioners  being  instructed  to  keep  men- 
tally in  mind  their  partictdar  ages.  This  would  seem 
incredible  were  it  not  vouched  for  by  witnesses.  She 
would  count,  and  give  readily  in  barks,  the  number  of 
persons  present  with  her.  One  sceptic  gave  her  as 
follows :  Multiply  two  by  five,  then  divide  the  amount 
by  two,  adding  three  and  subtracting  six,  whereon 
Bozzie  immediately  gave  two  barks;  and  another 
the  following:  Divide  eight  by  two,  and  this  half  by 
two,  and  the  result  again  divide  by  two.  Bozzie  im- 
mediately gave  one  bark.     And  many  other  sums  of  a 


288  Reminiscences  of 

similar  character,  to  which  the  answers  were  correctly 
given,  as  well  as  the  correct  spelling  of  many  words  of 
one  and  two  syllables.  This  seems  incredible,  but  is 
said  to  be  well  vouched  for. 

If  this  does  not  indicate  intelligent  reasoning,  it 
would  be  diflficult  to  say  what  it  is  that  directs  the 
dog's  mind ;  and  I  believe  in  my  own  mind,  that  if  intel- 
ligent dogs  could  be  endowed  by  the  power  of  speech, 
and  longevity  equal  to  man's,  and  have  the  flexible 
hand  of  man,  which  is  an  immensely  valuable  feature, 
they  could  be  instructed  as  children  are  in  language, 
reading,  and  writing,  and  in  consequent  evolution  take 
rank  above  many  of  the  degraded  tribes  of  men  who  are 
accounted  the  possessors  of  immortal  sovils,  which  are 
by  assimiption  denied  to  all  the  animals  lower  than  man. 

Since  I  have  written  the  above  about  Bozzie,  I  learn 
from  correspondence  with  Mr.  Clason  that  she  has  de- 
parted from  earthly  life,  and  that  one  of  her  descend- 
ants, Tess,  now  two  years  old,  is  almost  equal  in  intel- 
ligence and  action  with  her  mother,  and  that  a  still 
younger  offspring,  one  year  old,  Bozzie  III.,  is  exhi- 
biting an  intelligence  which  the  owner  thinks  exceeds 
that  of  any  of  her  race. 

Now  come  the  accounts  of  the  wonderful  horse, 
Hans,  at  Berlin,  Germany,  which  is  exciting  much 
comment  and  scientific  examination  by  experts,  and 
whose  picture  has  appeared  in  several  illustrated 
journals  of  prominence.  It  is  stated  that  this  horse 
counts  readily  up  to  one  hundred,  and  will  indicate 
a  number  correctly  below  that,  by  striking  the  floor 
with  one  of  his  front  feet,  and  will  do  sums  in 
arithmetic  in  complex  numbers,  and  in  fractions.  It 
seems  almost,  if  not  quite,  incredible. 


A  Sportsman  289 

This  Hans,  a  Russian  stallion  nine  years  old,  jet 
black  in  color,  with  bright  eyes,  and  small,  expressive 
ears,  which  seem  to  act  in  responsiveness  to  his  actions 
and  attentiveness,  has  never  been  touched  by  a  whip, 
and  is  as  human  in  gentleness  and  affection  with  his 
owner  and  master  as  an  animal  could  be,  is  rewarded 
for  his  intelligence  simply  by  a  judicious  giving  of 
carrots,  of  which  he  is  very  fond.  He  has  never  been 
publicly  exhibited  by  his  enthusiastic  owner  and  in- 
structor, Herr  Von  Osten.  Being  given  the  name  of 
the  day,  say  Wednesday,  he  will  readily  strike  four  times 
with  his  right  foot,  for  the  day  of  the  week,  and  being 
told  that  it  is  the  twentieth  day  of  the  month,  and  be- 
ing asked  what  day  of  the  month  it  will  be  a  week  after- 
wards, will  strike  twenty-seven  times.  From  half  a 
dozen  pieces  of  cloth  or  paper  of  various  colors,  he  will 
pick  out  and  designate  any  particular  one  named  by 
color.  It  is  a  simple  feat  for  him  to  give  the  correct  re- 
sult of  adding  several  simple  numbers  together.  He  will 
give  immediate  answers  to  questions  of  how  many  times 
six  will  go  into  thirty,  and  what  number  of  times 
six  will  go  into  eighteen,  and  what  is  the  seventh 
part  of  thirty-five,  and  the  answer  of  similar  sums, 
of  adding  two  numbers  together,  say  four  and  five,  and 
deducting  six.  And  in  vulgar  and  decimal  fractions 
he  seems  quite  at  home,  as  in  questions  of  this  char- 
acter, and  will  answer  how  much  must  you  deduct 
from  four  to  obtain  one  and  three-twelfths,  giving  first 
the  whole  number  of  two,  and  afterwards  nine  strokes 
for  twelfths.  This  and  many  other  arithmetic  sums 
too  numerous  to  mention. 

Had  not  Hans  been  submitted  to  the  most  critical 
examinations  by  scientific  savants — the  last  being  a 


290  Reminiscences  of 

committee  of  Professor  Haeckel,  the  most  eminent 
biologist  and  critical  expert  known,  Professor  Stumpff 
of  the  Berlin  University,  and  Professor  Norenburg  of 
the  Prussian  Ministry  of  Education,  who  coincided 
with  all  of  the  distinguished  committees  of  examina- 
tions, that  Hans  clearly  exhibited  thoughtful  and  reas- 
oning powers,  with  remarkable  memor}' — one  might 
well  doubt  the  statements  made,  and  believe  that  Hans 
simply  followed  a  fixed  routine,  or  resorted  to  signs 
and  aid  from  his  master,  but  has  proved  to  be  entirely 
independent  of  him,  and  to  pass  the  ordeal  of  examina- 
tion as  triumphantly  during  the  absence  of  his  master 
as  when  he  was  present,  clearly  demonstrating  that  he 
understood  the  Gei-man  language  when  addressed  to 
him,  and  in  no  way  depended  upon  the  aid  of  any 
trickery  or  drilled  memory. 

And  if  all  intelligent  and  reasoning  animals  have  the 
element  of  soul — and  who  can  tangibly  deny — ^where 
shall  we  draw  the  line?  When  we  view  the  starr}^ 
sky  and  obsei-ve  the  many  millions  of  suns,  many  eclips- 
ing our  own  in  magnitude,  and  by  analogy  having  their 
subordinate  satellites  as  ours,  and  actually  showing 
them  in  a  few  instances,  as  that  of  Sirius  and  Procian, 
and  by  the  spectroscope  and  prism  showing  such  as 
have  almost  identically  the  elements  of  our  sun  and  its 
planets,  may  it  not  be  a  reasonable  conjecture  that  there 
may  be  countless  worlds  similar  at  least  to  our  own  in 
having  elements  favorable  to  animal  and  plant  life? 
If  it  be  so,  and  none  can  deny,  may  there  not  be  many 
worlds  possessing  beings  of  intelligence  and  soul,  pos- 
sibly far  in  advance  of  those  upon  our  habitation, 
created  l)\'  the  immutable  laws  of  nature  which  have 
created  ours?     And  beyond  our  tmiverse,  in  endless 


A  Sportsman  291 

space,  are  seen,  by  telescopes  of  the  greatest  power, 
faint  glimmerings  of  nebulas,  which  may  yet  be  re- 
solved by  increasing  powers  into  universes  as  immense 
as  ours,  from  which  light  moving  with  the  velocity  of 
electricity,  sufficiently  rapid  to  circle  our  earth  seven 
times  in  a  second,  would  require  hvmdreds  of  years  of 
time  to  reach  our  world.  And  beyond  those  glimmer- 
ing lights  in  endless  space,  What?  We  cannot  affirm, 
and  we  cannot  deny.  We  cannot  solve  the  mysteries 
of  nature;  nor  can  we  deny  the  Almighty  power  of 
creation  in  extent. 

Light,  which  arrives  in  eight  minutes  through  the 
space  of  ninety-three  millions  of  miles  from  the  sun,  and 
an  hour  from  the  most  distant  planet  of  our  solar 
system,  Neptune,  which  requires  hundreds  of  years  to 
make  its  orbital  journey  around  the  sun,  which  our 
earth  completes  in  one,  requires  two  or  three  years  to 
reach  us  from  the  nearest  fixed  star  in  the  sky,  and  if  we 
could  direct  a  new  light  from  our  earth  or  an  electric 
message  into  space,  it  could  only,  in  a  hundred  millions 
of  years,  have  just  commenced  its  journey  through 
endless  space,  upon  a  route  which  would  be  illimitable. 

How  little  we  know  of  anything  beyond  our  immedi- 
ate reach!  Of  even  our  companion  planets,  or  even 
of  the  moon  our  satellite,  but  a  few  thousand  miles 
distant,  whose  features  our  scientists  are  not  all  agreed 
upon,  and  yet  in  our  conceit  we  detennine,  without 
logical  evidence,  the  distinctiveness  of  intelligence, 
reason,  mind,  and  soul.  We,  the  superior  animals, 
are  progressng  from  the  identical  natural  source 
from  which  all  living  creatures  have  emanated 
and  progressed  under  the  immutable  laws  of 
nature. 


292  Reminiscences  of 

CALIFORNIA  is  conspicuous  for  its  variety  of 
fishes,  in  its  streams  which  abound  with  dis- 
tinctive kinds  of  trout,  and  in  the  Pacific  waters  which 
lie  along  the  coast,  where  an  endless  variety  of  game 
fashes  are  to  be  found. 

It  is  somewhat  annoying  for  the  many  lovers  of 
the  eastern  trout  to  be  informed  that  our  eastern 
trout,  technically  speaking,  are  not  trout  at  all,  but 
charrs,  and  that  the  true  trout  must  be  sought  for 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  simply  because  it  sheds  its  teeth 
from  the  vomer,  which  is  the  middle  part  of  the  roof 
of  its  mouth,  as  does  the  salmon,  while  the  true  trout 
in  the  form  of  its  vomer  differs  from  the  charr,  and 
preserves  its  teeth  through  life.  For  this  slight 
difference  the  ichthyologists  have  seen  fit  to  desig- 
nate our  eastern  trout  as  charr.  It  is  natural  that 
when  the  first  settlers  in  America,  familiar  with 
the  English  trout  (Salmo  Fario),  finding  the  carmine- 
spotted  and  brilliant-hued  fishes  with  high  game 
qualities,  called  them  trout,  though  far  more  beautiful 
than  the  English,  or  those  of  German  or  Northern 
European  regions,  which  are  true  trout  in  the  scientific 
sense. 

Our  eastern  and  central  trout  are  correctly  the  Sal- 
velinus  Fontinalis.  It  is  considered  by  the  most  emi- 
nent authorities  that  the  various  trouts  of  the  northern 
Pacific  streams,  the  rainbow,  cut-throat,  steel-head 
and  golden,  all  true  trout,  have  descended  from  the  so- 
called  steel-heads,  as  well  as  the  various  lake  trouts, 
the  latter  being  similar  to  those  of  our  eastern  and 
central  lakes,  of  dull  color  and  brown  spots. 

The  steel-heads  {Salmo  Gairdineri),  found  in  the 
various     streams     of     the     northern      Pacific,     take 


A  Sportsman  293 

readily  to  salt  water,  as  well  as  charr,  and  reach  a 
maximum  weight  of  tweiity-five  pounds  and  over,  and 
are  of  high  game  qualities,  and  readily  take  the  fly, 
as  well  as  fresh  bait.  They  are  speared  in  large  num- 
bers in  some  streams  in  the  autumn,  as  they  come  in 
from  the  sea.  The  designation  of  steel-heads  has  been 
given  from  the  lustrous  steel  coloring  of  the  heads. 
Otherwise  this  trout  is  dull  in  color  with  brown  spots. 
At  the  Carmelo  stream  below  Monterey  Bay  they 
come  in  largely  with  the  raising  of  the  water  from  the 
autumnal  rains,  where  they  breed  extensively,  return- 
ing to  the  sea  before  the  spring  freshets  are  over.  This 
stream  exhibits  the  peculiarity  late  in  the  spring  of 
clogging  up  its  outlet  to  the  sea  in  low  water  by  an 
accumulative  sand  bank,  through  which  the  water 
seeps,  making  an  entrance  impassable  for  the  passage 
of  fish.  Down  in  the  stretches  of  pools  so  confined 
the  young  steel-heads  are  plentifully  found  of  one  and 
two  years  old,  weighing  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  pound, 
which  afford  good  fly  fishing.  These  young  trout  go 
out  on  the  first  rise  of  water,  and  grow  rapidly  in  the 
sea.  It  is  not  uncommon  when  the  first  rains  come, 
when  the  rise  of  the  stream  has  not  become  sufficient 
to  break  the  barrier  of  sand  at  the  outlet,  to  see  the 
steel-heads  seeking  a  passage  through  the  shallow  water, 
and  at  times  throw  themselves  bodily  out  on  the  sand 
in  their  eagerness  to  get  through;  and  when  the  water 
rises  sufficient  for  passage,  though  still  shallow,  the 
spearers  take  their  stand  and  secure  sometimes  large 
quantities  of  the  trout  by  this  barbarous  method.  The 
incident  of  throwing  themselves  out  of  the  water  on 
the  sand  where  fresh  water  percolates  through  the 
bank  is  also    observed    with  salmon  on  the  Pacific, 


294  Reminiscences  of 

showing  the  strong  impulse  of  nature  in  this  respect 
with  the  Sahno  family,  which  must  gain  fresh  water 
to  renew  its  species.  I  have  often  observed  in  eastern 
waters  the  struggling  efforts  of  trout  to  get  through 
the  shallow  reaches  of  water  over  sand  banks  at  the 
mouth  of  streams,  and  often  observed  trout  working 
through  when  compelled  to  forward  themselves  on 
their  sides,  and  have  dug  channels  through  the  sands  to 
facilitate  their  passage. 

The  steel-head  trouts  are  very  plentiful  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  particularly  at  the  northern  rivers,  where  they 
ascend  plentifully  with  the  salmon  at  the  spawning 
season.  They  are  the  largest  trout  known,  perhaps 
being  disputed  in  this  respect  by  the  cut-throat  trout 
(Salmo  Mykess),  in  Lake  Tahoe  between  the  States  of 
California  and  Nevada,  where  thc}^  attain  their  largest 
size. 

The  designation  of  cut-throat  is  given  to  this  trout 
from  its  having  a  crimson  or  scarlet  coloring  on  the 
membrane  between  the  branches  of  the  lower  jaw.  It 
is,  perhaps,  more  extensively  distributed  over  a  large 
area  than  any  other,  though  its  markings  to  a  consider- 
able extent  are  influenced  by  its  local  surroundings. 
It  is  plentiful  in  the  north  Pacific  streams  of  Kamts- 
chatka,  Alaska,  Washington,  Oregon,  northern  Cali- 
fornia, and  in  the  streams  on  both  sides  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  in  the  Utah  basin,  and  in  Colorado,  and 
more  southern  idstricts.  The  steel-heads  are  not,  how- 
ever, esteemed  so  highly  for  food  as  the  other  trout, 
though  very  gamey. 

The  rainbow  trout  (Iridius),  a  favorite  in  the  Cali- 
fornia streams,  is  a  plump  silvery-bluish-colored  fish 
with  red  lateral  streaks.     Structurally  it  is  claimed  to 


A  Sportsman  295 

be  dentical  with  the  steel-heads,  and  it  is  claimed  that 
when  given  access  to  the  sea,  its  colors  are  changed 
more  or  less  in  conformity  with  the  former,  and  a  ques- 
tion exists  which  ma}'  have  been  the  original  parent  of 
the  other.  In  fact  no  fishes  exhibit  the  characteristics 
of  rapid  change  of  colors,  as  affected  by  surroimdings, 
like  the  trout. 

The  golden  trout,  lately  brought  to  notice,  taken 
from  a  central  California  stream,  is  conspicuous  for  its 
bright  golden  color,  and  by  some  is  claimed  to  be  of  a 
distinctive  genus.  I  have  not  seen  it,  and  its  classi- 
fication will  of  course  depend  upon  its  structural  form- 
ation, and  not  likely  to  be  a  new  one,  and  will  likely 
be  classified  with  other  known  trout  in  the  State,  and 
possibly  with  the  charr,  Dolly  Varden,  which  ap- 
proaches more  than  any  other  on  the  Pacific  in  its 
gamy  qualities  to  the  eastern  trout. 

A  charr  (Salvdinus  Malma)  is  also  found  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  a  red-spotted,  gamy  fish,  and  a  ready  fly 
taker,  known  as  the  Dolly  Varden.  It  is  of  gaudy 
color  and  a  favorite,  and  although  a  charr,  has  been 
officially  classified  from  the  Smithsonian  Institution  of 
Washington  in  this  instance  as  the  Dolly  Varden  trout, 
and  will  so  remain,  charr  as  it  is. 

This  impulse  of  nature  with  the  Salmo  family  to  seek 
fresh  water  for  spawning  is  pursued  to  a  most  ex- 
traordinary extent,  and  is  fatal  to  millions  of  salmon 
annually  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  while  trout  of  less  bulk, 
and  adaptive  agility,  have  slight  loss  in  this  particular. 

The  salmon,  however,  not  satisfied  with  reaching 
water  sparkling  with  vitalizing  life,  pushes  on  as  if 
impelled  with  necessitated  urgency,  as  far  as  the 
stream  extends,  or  until  its  strength  is  exhausted,  for- 


296  Reminiscences  of 

ttinate  or  not.  as  it  may  prove,  if  it  escapes  the  seines 
and  revolving  catch  wheels  of  the  canners,  or  the  spears 
of  the  Indians,  or  the  foray  of  wild  animals  which 
depend  upon  it  for  nourishment  through  many  months 
of  the  year.  In  that  mad  rush  of  advance  impelled 
by  mutual  desire,  the  salty  waves  at  the  estuaries  of 
the  streams  are  often  incarnadined  with  the  ruddy  life 
blood  from  moving  masses  of  salmon,  set  free  by  the 
propeller  blades  or  revolving  wheels  of  passing  steam- 
ers; and,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  these  schools  of 
moving  salmon  are  at  times  so  compressed  across  the 
surface  of  streams,  near  the  outlets,  as  to  hide  the  water 
from  view,  and  if  they  could  be  so  held,  sustainable  for 
foot  passage,  one  could  cross  from  one  side  of  the  stream 
to  the  other  without  wetting  his  feet.  I  have  a  picture 
of  a  pack  of  this  character,  taken  on  an  Alaska  stream. 
Upon  the  salmon  entering  fresh-water  streams  its 
first  movements  are  in  leisurely  swimming  about  as  if 
in  enjoyment  of  the  change  of  water;  and  at  night — 
for  it  is  a  nocturnal  fish  as  are  all  of  the  Salmo  species 
— it  commences  its  up-stream  journey,  which  seldom 
exceeds  two  or  three  miles  an  hour,  and  on  it  goes 
upon  its  death  excursion,  as  almost  invariably 
experienced  in  the  principal  long  Pacific  rivers.  In 
the  Columbia  River  it  ascends  to  the  Spokane  Falls 
from  six  to  eight  hundred  miles,  and  in  the  Sacramento 
River  four  hundred  miles,  and  up  the  San  Joaquin 
River  to  the  extent  of  its  tributaries,  some  hundreds 
of  miles,  when  they  all,  at  least  all  of  those  which  reach 
the  upper  waters,  never  return,  and  countless  millions 
in  ages  past  have  thus  perished,  and  will  doubtless 
continue  to  do  so. 

During    this    ascent,     in    the    fresh-water   stream, 


A  Sportsman  297 

the  salmon  constantly  deteriorates  in  quality,  strength, 
color  and  form,  as  it  receives  no  nourishment  from 
food  whatever,  and  the  occasional  incidents  of  its  taking 
spawn,  or  a  baited  hook,  have  no  bearing  on  its  status. 

As  they  get  on,  their  silvery  hues,  so  conspicuous 
in  the  sea,  fade  away,  and  their  flesh  likewise  loses 
its  bright  pink  color,  and  its  blood  pales  steadily,  and 
those  which  reach  the  higher  waters  arrive  in  such  a 
wretched  condition  that  it  may  be  doubted  if  many  of 
them  are  fitted  for  the  last  act  in  the  drama  of  the 
salmon,  of  emitting  the  spawn  of  reproduction. 

I  have  personally  witnessed  the.  condition  and 
situation  of  these  worn-out  salmon,  stranded  in  the 
upper  waters  of  the  San  Joaquin  River,  stagnant  with 
the  decay  of  dead  fish,  where  those  surviving,  mutilated 
from  bruises,  with  worn  fins  and  tails,  and  half  blind, 
were  listlessly  swimming  about  in  hopeless  search 
for  outlet.  The  banks  of  the  pools  were  in  places 
white  with  salmon  bones  and  skins  left  by  devouring 
animals,  which  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  their  prey, 
and  attested  by  well- worn  paths  along  the  shores. 
Even  the  Indians  spear  such  fish  for  food,  patched 
with  white  fungus,  and  emaciated  to  the  last  degree. 
Salmon  in  this  condition  are  in  such  a  contrast  with 
fresh  nms  that  one  can  hardly  recognize  them.  The 
jaws  of  the  males  grow  longer  and  hooked  at  the  ends, 
the  back  becomes  hvunpy,  and  the  scales  disappear, 
and  the  belly  shrinks  away  and  becomes  dark  in  color, 
and  the  stomach,  so  long  disused,  will  be  found 
shrunken  away  to  the  size  of  a  man's  thumb.  It 
would  not  be  possible  for  salmon  in  this  condition 
under  the  most  favorable  situation  to  ever  reach  a 
state    equal    to   the   original.     Salmon   only   partially 


298  Reminiscences  of 

damaged,  which  find  their  way  down  to  the  salt  water 
again  from  spawning  beds  but  moderately  distant 
from  the  sea,  may  possibly  recover  to  a  primitive  con- 
dition; but  I  very  much  doubt  it  if  their  stay  from 
the  sea  has  been  prolonged,  for  the  inevitable  result 
of  stomach  shrinkage  is  bound  to  occur,  and  an  almost 
complete  extinction  of  the  stomach  glands  (pyloric 
coeca)    and    of   auxiliary    internal    organs. 

Salmon  fly  fishermen  are  familiar  with  the  black 
salmon  which  are  found  in  Atlantic  stream  pools, 
which  occasionally  take  the  fly,  having  come  down 
from  the  upper  waters  and  mingled  with  the  fresh 
runs.  These  are  the  salmon  which  have  lain  over  a 
year  in  the  stream,  and  are  more  or  less  blind,  but 
have,  some  of  them,  sufficient  vision  to  see  and  take 
the  fly.  These  we  know  to  be  completely  worthless 
for  food,  and  they  are  thrown  away,  and  if  examined  in- 
ternally will  be  found  to  be  almost  deficient  in  stomach 
and  stomach  glands,  and  we  may  feel  rather  sure 
that  they  can  never  be  revived  to  a  good  form  again. 

But  as  to  those  salmon,  male  and  female,  which  re- 
turn to  the  sea  from  short  streams  the  same  season  after 
spawning  is  over,  it  may  be  that  they  will  recuperate 
to  a  good  condition  again.  But  it  may  be  a  question 
if  they  do,  although  we  have  no  certain  evidence  of  it. 

It  might  be  cited  that  almost  all  of  the  enormously 
large  salmon  which  have  been  taken,  weighing  from 
sixty  to  even  one  hundred  pounds,  have  been  marked 
almost  invariably  by  some  prominent  features,  especially 
in  hooked  jaws.  From  the  large  salmon  I  have  seen, 
and  the  many  casts  in  museums  and  other  places, 
and  particularly  in  the  large  collection  of  salmon  casts 
made  by  the  late  Frank  Buckland,  of  London,  and  in 


A  Sportsman  299 

the  extensive  collection  of  salmon  casts  shown  at  the 
great  fisheries  exhibition  in  London  some  twenty 
years  ago,  which  was  a  marvel  of  its  kind,  I  observed 
that  the  casts  of  all  the  large  salmon  were  marked 
by  the  distortions  of  the  maxillaries  as  shown  in  the 
fresh-water  spawning  life,  with  the  lower  jaw  extended 
and  hooked. 

Among  the  millions  taken  of  the  quinnat,  or  king 
salmon,  in  Oregon,  at  the  Columbia  River  canning 
works,  an  occasional  one,  but  very  rarely,  has  been 
taken  weighing  up  to  one  hundred  pounds,  and  one 
frozen  in  ice,  of  eighty-two  pounds,  was  sent  on  to  the 
Columbian  Exposition.  As  these  large  salmon  are 
almost  invariably  males,  the  question  arises  if  they  had 
experienced  the  vicissitudes  of  river  and  spawning  life, 
and  were  not  survivors  by  some  singular  occurrence 
of  incidents,  and  had  missed  the  usual  predestinated 
fate  of  salmon. 

The  warfare  which  goes  on  between  the  males  at 
the  spawning  beds,  for  the  favorable  consideration 
and  possession  of  the  attractive  mistress  of  the 
spawning  domain,  are  often  severe  in  results,  often 
causing  the  death  of  the  defeated.  When  com- 
menced between  two  males,  such  combat  continues 
until  the  complete  defeat  of  one,  when  the  conqueror 
is  left  in  possession,  until  disputed  again  by  a  fresh 
arrival.  As  the  males  seem  to  predominate  over  the 
females,  it  can  be  believed  that  a  champion  male  of 
good  record  must  have  a  strenuous  experience.  In 
consequence  of  these  conflicts,  most  of  the  males  show 
the  results,  in  loss  of  fins  and  portions  of  the  tails 
and  other  mutilations ;  for  the  muscular  powers  of  the 
salmon's  jaws  are  great,  upon  which  the  fish  depends 


300  Reminiscences  of 

for  all  the  mastication  its  food  receives,  and  its  seizure 
of  small  fish  is  confined  to  those  which  can  be  readily 
swallowed  whole.  The  hooked  jaws  of  the  large  salmon 
do  not  necessarily  show  that  the  possessors  have  had 
a  river  spawning  experience,  for  the  hooked  formation 
is  an  accompaniment  of  age,   as  shown  with  trout. 

From  the  fact  that  the  extra  large  salmon,  of  which 
I  have  seen  many  casts,  have  not  shown  loss  of  fins- 
or  parts  of  tails,  or  have  exhibited  other  mutilations, 
such  would  seem  to  have  escaped  the  river  spawning 
experiences,  unless  the  bone  rays  of  the  fins  and  tails 
have  not  by  the  process  of  nature  been  renewed. 
This  is  rather  improbable,  and  tends  to  the  opinion 
that  these  large  salmon  have  escaped  the  river  ex- 
perience, so  fatal  to  those  of  northern  Pacific  waters; 
which  critical  application  would  not  apply  to  the  salmon 
inhabiting  the  shorter  European  streams,  from  which 
undoubtedly  many  salmon  return  to  the  sea  after 
spawning  season,  of  which  data  is  not  at  hand  for  con- 
sideration. But  that  the  northern  rivers  of  the  Pacific 
on  the  American  coast,  as  well  as  those  of  the  opposite 
Asian  Kamtchatka  waters  where  the  salmon  abound 
most  plentifully,  all,  or  almost  entirely  all,  terminate 
most  ingloriously  their  lives  in  the  fatal  season  of  repro- 
duction, is  clearly  indicated. 

That  the  salmon  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  in  a  commer- 
cial sense,  is  far  more  valuable  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
Pacific  fishes  combined,  or  of  all  the  salmon  availed 
of  elsewhere  in  the  world,  is  indisptitable.  They 
abound  in  such  numbers  as  to  give  the  canners  from 
California  to  Alaska  a  product  of  world-wide  prom- 
inence. The  humble  and  unambitious  codfish  must 
not  be  overlooked  as  of  future  great  importance  to 


A  Sportsman  301 

the  Pacific  Coast,  since  those  familiar  with  the  subject 
say  that  the  codfish  grounds  of  the  northern  Pacific 
are  as  proUfic  and  non-exhaustible  as  those  of  the 
banks  of  Ne^vfoundland.  In  this  connection  with 
fishes  as  a  food  product  of  the  future,  I  am  reminded 
of  the  able  report  on  the  North  Sea  Fisheries,  read  at 
the  great  Fisheries  Exhibition  in  London,  in  which 
it  was  stated  that,  despite  the  greatly  increased  popula- 
tion of  Europe,  and  the  increasing  consumption  of  fish, 
owing  to  the  ready  distribution  of  fresh  fish  by  rail- 
roads, that  the  North  Sea,  which  is  the  prominent 
European  field  of  supply,  was  estimated  to  be  able 
to  furnish  for  consumption  from  three  to  five  times 
the  present  demand,  without  likelihood  of  any  notice- 
able exhaustion.  This  is  cheerful  information  for 
those  who  are  puzzling  their  brains  with  a  fear  of  a 
demonstration  of  the  Malthusian  theory  of  over- 
population, which,  at  the  present  rate  of  increase  of 
population  the  world  over,  is  proceeding  at  a  ratio 
which  cannot  long  be  sustained;  still  we  have  a  good 
leeway,  and  until  a  thousand  millions  of  human  beings 
dominate  the  North  American  continent,  and  an  equal 
number  the  Southern,  and  as  many  more  in  Africa, 
and  a  thousand  million  or  so  more  for  the  open  situa- 
tions of  the  world,  we  need  not  have  apprehension,  and 
we  may  reflect  that  the  salt  ocean  alone  could  supply 
without  exhaustion,  at  the  present  time,  a  weight  of 
production  equal  to  that  daily  consumed  of  various 
products  by  the  human  race. 

Of  the  Sah}ionid(B  and  its  several  genera  found 
in  the  temperate  and  Arctic  regions,  the  salmon 
is  the  most  interesting  and  plentiful,  and  schools  in 
the    north    Pacific    in    immense    numbers,    extending 


302  Reminiscences  of 

down  half  way  along  the  eight  hundred  miles  of  the 
California  coast.  The  annual  pack  from  California 
to  Alaska  represents  an  average  of  about  eleven  hun- 
dred thousand  cases  of  forty-eight  pounds  to  the 
case,  and  as  three  salmon  on  the  average  are  required 
for  a  case,  the  number  of  salmon  annually  canned 
would  amount  to  between  three  and  four  millions. 
The  consumption  does  not  seem  yet  to  diminish 
seriously  the  supply,  though  the  number  packed  va- 
ries considerably,  sometimes  running  down  to  seven  or 
eight  hundred  thousand  cases  and  up  to  a  million 
and  three  quarters  of  cases. 

Little  progress  has  been  made  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
in  artificial  propagation;  although  the  ova  or  eggs 
of  the  salmon  are  detached  and  free  at  exudation, 
as  with  all  the  Salmo  genera,  there  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  any  very  successful  artificial  breeding 
of  the  salmon  anywhere,  despite  all  assertions  to 
the  contrary.  In  fact  in  Canada,  where  for  years 
the  artificial  breeding  of  salmon  has  been  pursued, 
it  is  claimed  that  no  material  advantages  have  been 
gained,  and  the  subject  is  now  one  of  controversy 
between  two  prominent  fish  culturists — Mr.  Samuels, 
of  Boston,  in  the  affirmative  and  W.  H.  Venning, 
of  Ontario,  in  the  negative — and  as  Mr.  Venning 
has  been  for  many  years  a  commissioner  of  the  Can- 
adian fisheries,  his  arguments  seem  well  supported, 
and  his  experience  would  seem  to  have  much  weight. 

Yet  the  importance  of  this  subject  is  too  great 
to  be  hastily  summed  up,  and  while  the  weight  of  evi- 
dence has  been  largely  with  Venning,  that  more  late- 
ly given  by  Samuels,  including  the  results  obtained 
from  the  superintendents  of  half  a  dozen  Canadian 


A  Sportsman  303 

streams,  covering  a  period  of  several  years,  indicates 
that  the  hatching  out  and  increase  of  sahiion  at  the 
several  streams  has  been  decidedly  fa\'orable. 

The  success  of  artificial  propagation  of  ova  from 
a  large  variety  of  fishes  has  been  so  successfully  in- 
dicated that  it  would  be  most  unfortunate  if  that 
of  the  monarch  of  all  fish,  from  a  fisherman's  point 
of  view,  should  fail;  and  the  apparent  diminution 
of  salmon,  where  hatching  works  have  been  estab- 
lished, is  believed  by  some  familiar  with  the  subject 
to  have  occurred  more  from  the  persistence  with  which 
the  seining  of  salmon  has  been  followed,  than  from 
a  failure  in  the  artificial  propagation. 

It  is  estimated  that  less  than  four  per  cent  of  the 
ova  naturally  distributed  by  the  female  salmon  is 
hatched  out  to  successful  life,  owing  to  the  various 
adverse  conditions  which  surround  the  fish  during  its 
young  life,  while  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  impreg- 
nated eggs  are  hatched  under  the  careful  attention  be- 
stowed at  the  hatcheries.  The  amount  of  ripe  ova 
found  in  a  matured  salmon  spawner  is  often  of  the 
weight  of  three  or  four  pounds. 

Experience  has  shown  that  the  liberation  in  free 
water  of  the  freshly  hatched  salmon  is  almost  in- 
variably fatal  to  its  life,  as  it  steadily  falls  a  victim 
to  other  fish  and  the  variety  of  water  feeders  which 
destroy  it.  If  retained  in  proper  receptacles,  how- 
ever, and  properly  fed  until  it  is  five  or  six  inches 
in  length,  it  is  found  to  take  good  care  of  itself  and 
have  favorable  prospects  of  reaching  maturity. 

The  salmon  of  the  Pacific,  singular  to  say,  do  not 
take  the  artificial  fly  so  readily  taken  by  those  of 
the    Atlantic.     They    will    take    it    if    trolled    under 


304  Reminiscences  of 

water  when  they  are  feeding,  as  they  would  a  spoon 
or  even  a  rag,  as  they  will  any  small  object  moving 
from,  or  by  them,  and  I  have  several  times,  when 
trolling  for  them  with  fresh  fish  bait,  had  my  leaden 
sinkers  taken  off  by  them. 

Among  the  Pacific  salmon  there  are  five  varieties, 
classified  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  under  the 
head  of  Oncorhynchus,  by  Steller,  an  eminent  Russian 
scientist,  which  designation  has  abided. 

These  salmon  are  distinct  from  the  Atlantic 
salmon  {Salmo  Salar)  in  some  minor  particulars. 
The  Pacific  salmon  has  from  fourteen  to  twenty  bone 
rays  in  the  anal  fin,  to  nine  or  ten  in  the  Atlantic.  It 
has  more  gill  rakers,  larger  scales,  and  has  more  or  less 
of  brown  spots  about  the  head  and  back.  It  has  the 
usual  silver  white  color,  but  at  the  head  a  peculiar 
lustrous  steel  color,  as  one  might  suppose  to  come  from 
burnishing  a  metal  of  mixed  lead  and  silver,  a  pale  olive 
cast  peculiar  to  this  fish.  This  description  applies 
to  the  principal  salmon,  the  Chinook  or  king  salmon 
so  plentiful,  and  more  extensively  used  in  canning  than 
any  other.  This  salmon  at  the  Columbia  River  has  an 
average  weight  of  twenty -one  pounds,  while  the  same 
fish  from  the  Sacramento  River  averages  from  sixteen 
to  seventeen  pounds. 

Of  the  four  remaining  Pacific  saknon  the  blue-back 
(0.  Onerka)  is  the  next  important  for  canning,  mod- 
erate in  size,  averaging  from  five  to  eight  pounds, 
being  of  red  color  and  good  flavor.  This  salmon 
is  prominent  at  the  Fraser  and  Yukon  rivers,  and 
ascends  to  the  limit  of  those  streams,  and  is  domes- 
ticated more  or  less  in  Lake  Whatcom,  hundreds  of 
miles  from  the  sea  in  Washington,  where  it  is  always 


A  Sportsman  305 

found,  though  diminished  in  size  and  less  attractive 
in  form  and  flavor  then  when  fresh  from  the  sea. 
When  young  it  has  a  few  black  spots,  which  disappear 
later  on. 

The  silver  salmon  (0.  Kisutch)  is  still  smaller  than 
the  blue-back,  weighing  from  three  to  eight  pounds, 
of  good  flavor  when  fresh  from  the  sea,  but  not  ac- 
counted of  value  in  canning. 

The  dog  salmon  (O.  Keia)  averages  about  twelve 
pounds  in  weight,  frequenting  the  northern  rivers, 
and  is  worthless  for  canning  or  consumption,  though 
eaten  by  the  Indians,  who  are  not  at  all  particular 
about  the  character  of  their  food.  It  is  of  a  dull 
silver  color,  with  small  black  spots,  and  as  it  advances 
in  age  its  jaws  grow  much  out  of  regular  line. 

The  last  variety  of  salmon  is  the  humpback  {O. 
gorbtischa),  the  smallest  species  of  all  the  salmon, 
weighing  from  three  to  six  pounds,  of  bluish  silver 
color,  with  plentiful  small  black  spots.  Its  back  is 
more  or  less  humped,  from  which  the  name  is  given. 
Its  meat  is  of  inferior  quality  and,  with  the  dog 
salmon,  it  does  not  make  the  spring  rvm  up  the  north- 
em  streams;  and,  small  as  it  is,  becomes  more  dis- 
torted in  form  and  jaws  than  the  dog  salmon.  Both 
of  these  are  moderate  in  extending  up  the  streams, 
and  are  noted  for  their  peculiarity  of  locating  for 
spawning  in  very  shallow  water,  where  they  often  be- 
come stranded  and  readily  fall  captive  to  the  Indians 
and  wild  animals. 


3o6  Reminiscences  of 

THE  salmon  for  canning  are  taken  principally  in 
seining,  although  in  late  years  large  water-wheels 
have  been  erected  in  favorable  places  on  river  banks 
where  the  currents  are  rapid  and  where  salmon  iim, 
which,  revolving  by  the  cvurents,  take  up  at  times 
large  quantities  of  the  salmon  heading  up  stream, 
and  in  some  instances  have  scooped  up  immense  num- 
bers, which  by  an  arrangement  of  the  wheel  slide 
into  an  adjoining  compartment,  and  catches  of  a  single 
night  have  been  made  of  a  ntimber  of  tons  in  weight. 
Spearing  by  the  Indians  and  scooping  up  with  large 
hand  nets  are  also  followed  to  a  large  extent. 

Most  sportsmen  will  agree  that,  tempered  with  ex- 
perience and  surroundings,  they  have  a  favoring,  be- 
tween fishing  and  shooting,  for  one  over  the  other; 
commencing  with  the  extremity  of  boyish  enthu- 
siasm in  the  catching  of  minnows  and  smaU  fish, 
and  the  knocking  over  of  sparrows,  they  advance  in 
more  fixed  preferences.  I  will  own  that,  although 
I  have  had  some  experience  in  the  shooting  line, 
my  preference  is  for  fishing,  which  I  have  followed 
more  assiduously  than  shooting. 

In  1892,  in  the  month  of  June,  when  at  Monterey 
on  the  California  coast,  a  hundred  miles  south  of 
San  Francisco,  and  visiting  the  hauls  of  the  market 
fishermen,  as  brought  in  principally  by  Italians  and 
Portuguese,  I  was  interested  in  observing  more  or 
less  salmon  brought  in,  which  had  been  taken  with 
baited  hooks  on  strong  cotton  handlines.  This  inter- 
ested me  so  much  that  I  accompanied  some  of  the 
boats  which  left  at  an  early  daylight  hour,  and  as  a 
school  of  salmon  had  come  into  the  bay,  I  saw  a  num- 
ber of  them  taken,   which  was  a  revelation  to  me. 


A  Sportsman  307 

These  fishermen  were  on  hand  for  any  edible  fish 
which  might  come  along,  sinking  or  trolling,  as  the  case 
might  be,  for  cod,  blue-fish,  barracuda,  and  flounders, 
or  for  mackerel,  sea  bass  or  salmon.  Their  fishing 
was  entirely  with  cotton  handlines,  using  small  fresh 
fish  for  bait,  which  abounded  in  plentifulness. 

I  was  strongly  affected  in  contemplation  of  the  field 
before  me,  and  will  give  an  account  of  my  experiences 
in  this  remarkable  arena,  where  the  sportsman's  king 
of  fishes,  the  salmon,  could  be  taken  in  full  vigor  in 
the  open  sea,  lustrous  and  eager  in  the  pursuit  of  its 
natural  food,  undiminished  by  the  abstinence  and 
confinement  incidental  to  river  pool  life,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  long  fast  which  ordinarily  ter- 
minates its  existence. 

To  see  these  vigorous,  combative  monarchs  of  the 
Salmo  family  brought  up  along  side  of  the  boat,  swerv- 
ing in  the  pull,  from  side  to  side,  by  powerful  strokes 
of  tail,  and  never  ceasing  in  their  fighting  gameness, 
even  when  struck  by  the  cruel  gaff,  with  its  following 
of  spurting  ruddy  life's  blood,  or  until  the  fatal  brutal 
head  blow  given  in  the  boat. 

Ignoble  and  inglorious  this  ending  of  the  silver- 
spangled  warrior  of  the  deep  sea,  whose  speed  through 
the  cr^'stal  waters  equals  that  of  the  dolphin,  or  any 
denizens  of  the  sea — equal  almost  to  that  of  the 
fleeting  hare  on  land.  To  see  this  sparkling  form 
in  fresh  fulness,  in  the  last  tremulous  throes  of  death, 
seemed  a  sorrow.  Still,  perhaps,  it  was  better  to  die 
thus  in  perfection  of  life  and  action  than  slowly  to 
perish  from  exhaustion  and  mutilation  in  a  stagnant 
pool,  or,  blind  and  bloodless,  gasp  in  starvation  amid 
the  whirling  eddies. 


3o8  Reminiscences  of 

I  saw  enough  to  fire  my  hope  and  expectations, 
and  from  the  city  I  obtained  two  bamboo  bass  rods 
of  good  strength,  with  large  multiplj'ing  reels  having 
rubber  thumb  pads,  with  six  hundred  feet  of  twenty- 
thread  linen  lines  and  suitable  hooks.  The  bamboo 
rods  I  soon  smashed  up,  but  they  lasted  with  repairs 
and  lashings  until  I  secured  by  telegraphing  to  New 
York  for  several  six-and-a-half -foot  steel  trolling  rods 
with  agate  line  runners,  weighing  ten  ounces.  These 
I  found  most  appropriate,  and  capable  with  careful 
handling  for  all  the  salmon  I  caught,  and  with  one  I 
handled  successfully  a  ninety-pound  shark,  which 
after  some  time  I  brought  to  gaff. 

I  engaged  a  good-sized  fishing  boat,  applicable  for 
sailing,  and  two  men,  fishermen  and  old  whalers, 
and  in  the  next  three  months  I  made  forty  fishing 
trips,  almost  invariably  leaving  my  lodgings  before 
the  clear  dawn,  rising  generally  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning ;  and  from  my  trips  I  secured  over  five  thou- 
sand pounds  of  salmon  from  trolling — a  record  I  can 
never  expect  to  duplicate  (nor  have  any  particular 
desire  to),  as  the  season  of  1892  for  profusion  of  sal- 
mon at  Monterey  Bay  has  never  been  equalled  since, 
and  in  a  few  of  the  intervening  years  only  a  moderate 
number  have  been  found  there,  with  following  good 
years. 

I  have  followed  the  salmon  trolling  there  moder- 
ately during  the  years  since,  and  expect  to  do  so 
again,  but  have  only  met  with  moderate  success. 
The  feature  shown  there  is  comparatively  unique,  in 
the  finding  of  salmon  which  eagerly  take  fresh  fish 
bait  in  the  open  sea,  not  known  of  in  other  waters 
than    the    Pacific,   though   very  rarely  salmon  have 


A  Sportsman  309 

been  caught  in  European  waters  with  spawn  bait. 
This  may  be  accounted  as  a  compensation  by  the 
Pacific  salmon  for  the  non-taking  of  the  artificial 
fly,  so  universal  with  its  Atlantic  and  European  pro- 
totype. Nor  is  there  on  the  Pacific  Coast  any  such  area 
of  profusion  of  bait-taking  salmon  as  that  stretch- 
ing over  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  from  Santa  Cruz 
and  Monterey  to  Carmelo.  At  Puget  Sound,  and 
at  the  mouths  of  the  Columbia  and  Eraser  rivers, 
the  salmon  likewise  take  bait  in  the  sea;  but  more 
incidentally  on  their  passage  to  the  rivers,  without 
abiding  for  weeks  as  they  do  off  Monterey,  and  be- 
fore the  ova  has  advanced  toward  the  voiding  con- 
dition as  with  those  salmon  seeking  passage  up  the 
rivers. 

In  fact,  the  salmon  coming  off  Monterey  are  more 
behind  those  seeking  spawning  beds.  They  have  sim- 
ply followed  their  food  supplies  from  some  sea  depth. 
It  is  a  very  interesting  sight  to  witness  the  coming  in 
and  arrival  of  the  small  fish  and  squid,  accompanied 
by  myriads  of  predator}-  birds,  who  now  welcome  the 
harvest  days  long  waited  for,  which  unite  them  from 
their  before-scattered  locations,  in  clouds  composed 
of  many  thousands,  animated  by  a  common  impulse 
for  deglutition  and  destruction,  exponents  of  the 
creatures  of  nature,  to  kill  and  devour.  The  small 
fish  coming  in  the  summer  and  the  earl}-  autumnal 
months  into  and  adjoining  Monterey  for  spawning 
are  largely  anchovies  and  sardines.  These  fishes 
are  about  the  size  of  herrings,  though  there  are  two 
sizes  of  the  sardines  smaller  than  the  regular  full  size. 
These  come  in  countless  numbers,  as  well  as  the  an- 
chovies, swimming  near  the  surface,  and  often  cover 


3IO  Reminiscences  of 

acres  in  extent;  and  also  the  squid,  a  miniature  octopus 
in  appearance,  soft  and  boneless,  which  come  in 
prodigious  quantities,  and,  keeping  at  the  surface 
more  than  the  small  fish,  are  more  easily  captured 
by  the  sea-birds,  although  they  seem  the  favorite  food 
not  only  of  the  birds,  but  of  the  salmon  and  a  dozen 
other  kinds  of  fishes,  as  well  as  of  seals  and  sea-lions, 
but  the  quantity  is  so  immense  that  little  impression 
is  made  upon  them,  or  even  upon  the  anchovies  and 
sardines.  These  schools  can  be  observed  a  long  dis- 
tance ofif  in  a  clear  sea,  though  not  immediately  at 
the  surface,  by  the  reflection  of  their  color. 

Nor  should  we  fail  to  observe  that  all  fish  life  ex- 
isting in  both  salt  and  fresh  waters  owes  its  existence 
to  an  article  of  food  which  is  invisible  to  the  naked  eye : 
to  the  endless  variety  and  extensiveness  of  the  animal- 
cules and  protozoa  which  the  infantile  fish,  whether 
supplied  with  umbilical  sac  or  not,  depends  upon  for 
its  first  growth.  This  furnishes  another  exhibition 
of  the  automatic  revolution  of  the  water  supplies. 

The  squid  is  too  delicate  and  tender  for  salmon  bait, 
although  the  stomachs  of  the  captured  salmon  show 

Note  by  the  Editor  of  The  Sportsmen's  Review:  It  may  properly 
be  mentioned  here  that  Mr.  Whitney  received  the  credit  of  first  exploiting 
and  giving  to  the  public  the  proper  methods  of  taking  the  Pacific  salmon  in 
the  sea,  in  a  sportsman-like  and  artistic  manner  with  a  light  trolhng  rod 
and  fine  line,  as  accorded  to  him  by  the  prominent  California  newspapers, 
also  in  foreign  sporting  papers  and  journals.  His  descriptions,  given  out 
in  1892,  had  wide  circulation  among  foreign  sportsmen,  being  translated 
and  published  in  several  languages.  The  New  York  Forest  and  Stream, 
referring  to  him,  said:  "Salmon  fishermen  the  world  over  owe  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  him  for  his  extremely  interesting  accounts  of  sea  fishing  for 
salmon  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  Though  that  fishing  has  been  known  for 
years  to  a  limited  number  of  anglers,  he  has  been  the  first  one  to  exploit 
the  sport  in  adequate  description  for  the  benefit  of  the  guild,  and  may 
fairly  lay  claim  to  the  discovery.  Others  may  have  known  of  it  as  the 
Norsemen  knew  of  America,  but  he  has  been  the  Columbus  to  proclaim 
his  discovery  to  the  world,  and  to  command  for  it  the  attention  it  de- 
serves." 


A  Sportsman  311 

more  squid  than  anything  else.  It  is  a  repulsive- 
looking  object,  yet  is  accounted  by  many  of  the  Portu- 
guese and  Italian  fishemien  as  a  great  delicacy,  and 
is  served  up  fried  in  some  of  the  San  Francisco  res- 
taurants. By  the  Chinese  it  is  considered  very  good, 
and  until  late  years,  when  the  fish  commissioners  have 
forbid  it  being  taken  with  nets,  was  hauled  in  and 
dried  by  the  hundreds  of  tons  and  shipped  to  China, 
where  it  was  accounted  a  leading  luxury. 

The  objections  of  the  fish  commissioners  were  not 
founded  upon  a  fear  of  diminishing  the  supply,  but 
more  from  the  general  protests  of  residents  about  the 
Chinese  coast  fishing  grounds,  as  the  odor  from  acres 
of  sun-dried  squid  was  particularly  offensive. 

The  method  of  securing  the  squid  followed  by  the 
Chinese  was  by  netting  at  night.  The  squid  was 
attracted  by  displaying  lights  from  boats,  about  which 
the  squid  would  cluster,  whereupon  other  boats  would 
circulate  around  with  large  purse  nets,  and  secure 
immense  hauls. 

I  have  seen  these  squid  stretched  out  on  the  surface 
of  the  sea  for  over  half  a  mile  in  length,  and  over- 
cast by  such  clouds  of  muirs,  shags  and  various  fish- 
eating  birds  as  to  be  uncountable,  and  I  have  often 
estimated  as  many  as  ten  thousand  birds  of  this 
character  on  and  hovering  about  a  single  field  of  squid. 
Some  of  these  birds  will  gorge  so  thoroughly  as  to  be 
incapable  of  flight,  and  if  pursued  in  a  boat  can  be 
knocked  over  with  an  oar,  and  when  pursued  will 
often  disgorge  as  followed  until  they  are  able  to  rise 
from  the  water. 

On  my  first  excursion  out,  from  an  early  hour  until 
10  o'clock  I  was  very  fortunate  in  taking  in  eleven 


312  Reminiscences  of 

fine  salmon,  which  weighed  nearly  two  hundred 
pounds,  the  smallest  being  a  grilse  of  eight  pounds 
and  the  largest  twenty-four  pounds.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  I  followed  the  fishing  with  eagerness, 
making  an  excursion  out  about  every  other  day, 
generally  finishing  up  before  noon,  but  two  or  three 
times  I  was  out  all  day  when  the  salmon  were  very 
plentiful,  inaking  notable  catches.  It  was  seldom — 
not  more  than  two  or  three  times  out  of  forty-odd 
trips — that  I  failed  to  fetch  in  salmon,  so  one  can 
see  that  the  fishing  condition  was  most  remarkable, 
and  no  season  since  1892  has  shown  its  equal.  My 
largest  catch  when  out  a  whole  da}',  which  occasion 
I  more  fully  refer  to  hereafter,  was  twenty-nine  sal- 
mon, weighing  512  pounds,  averaging  a  little  over 
seventeen  pounds,  my  smallest  salmon  that  day 
weighing  eight  pounds  and  my  largest  thirty-eight 
pounds.  I  carefull}^  weighed  all  the  salmon  I  caught, 
the  total  number  being  320,  and  the  total  weight 
being  5231  pounds.  The  largest  sabnon  was  fifty- 
four  pounds,  which  I  had  no  particular  difficult}^ 
in  fetching  to  gaflf,  excepting  in  the  time  given.  The 
short  steel  ten-ounce  rod  is  a  verj'  efficient  one,  and 
will  bear  a  much  stronger  strain  than  a  heavier  bam- 
boo rod,  especially  when  a  heav)-  fish  sulks  below 
the  boat — and  it  is  the  disposition  of  sharks  to  do  this 
more  than  salmon. 

The  small-sized  sharks  in  Monterey  are  very  plenti- 
ful, the  larger  portion  of  them  being  under  twenty 
pounds  in  weight,  which  can  easily  be  brought  in, 
although  there  are  many  which  weigh  from  a  hundred 
pounds  up,  and  when  one  of  these  is  struck  it  is 
better  to  let  him  go,  after  securing  all  the  line  possible. 


A  Sportsman  313 

Two  of  the  largest  sharks  known  in  any  waters 
are  occasionally  seen  off  the  bay — the  whale  shark 
and  the  basking,  weighing  tons.  The  former  is  seen 
rarely,  but  the  latter  often.  Neither  of  these  is 
known  as  a  man-eater. 

It  is  necessary  from  the  Monterey  pier  to  row  off 
two  or  three  miles  to  reach  the  salmon,  and  some- 
times farther,  and  the  sea  is  not  always  smooth, 
oftentimes  too  rough  for  those  inclined  to  sea-sick- 
ness, and  the  mornings  are  generally  foggy,  but  clear 
up  before  noon,  when  the  prevailing  west  wind  comes 
up,  which  enables  one  to  sail  back  to  the  pier. 

It  is  necessary  ordinarily  to  sink  the  baited  hook 
from  thirty  to  forty  feet  below  the  surface,  and  some- 
times lower.  This  requires  a  sinker  of  four  or  five 
ounces  in  weight  to  keep  down  the  hook,  when  rowing 
the  boat  at  a  speed  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  an  hour. 
I  found  the  sinker  an  inconvenience  in  the  free  playing 
of  the  fish,  and  devised  a  method  to  free  it  by  fast- 
ening it  to  a  short  piece  of  extra  line,  which  I  attached 
to  my  main  one,  by  a  peculiar  bow-knot,  thirty  or 
forty  feet  from  the  hook,  so  that  I  could  detach  it 
by  a  hard  pull,  as  I  reeled  in  after  the  strike;  as  the 
salmon  when  first  hooked  at  a  depth  almost  invariably 
remains  below  for  a  while,  without  commencing  its 
wild  runs  away,  which  occur  when  thoroughly  alarmed 
at  being  brought  up  near  the  surface.  The  first 
action  is  generally  of  violent  head-shaking  to  detach 
the  irritating  hook,  and  by  this  head-shaking,  communi- 
cated along  the  line  and  rod  to  the  fisherman,  he  is 
aware  of  a  salmon  being  on,  rather  than  another  fish, 
and  as  he  immediately  and  steadily  reels  up,  the  bow 
line-attachment    of  the  sinker  is  brought  alongside  of 


314  Reminiscences  of 

the  boat,  and  quickly  removed  by  one  of  the  boat- 
men. But  not  always  does  this  method  succeed,  as 
the  salmon  may  be  off  before  it  can  be  accomplished 
and  the  sinker  in  such  case  may  remain,  clogging  the 
free  runs,  until  the  last  one. 

I  devised  a  much  better  method  later  on  for  throw- 
ing off  the  sinker.  My  steel  hooks  of  three  quarters 
of  an  inch  spread  at  the  bow,  and  long  shanked,  I 
had  soldered  on  to  a  stout  brass  wire  of  four  inches 
in  length,  and  this  connected  by  two  more  pieces  of 
similar  wire  and  length,  by  stout  brass  swivels.  My 
four-ounce  leaden  sinkers,  round  and  tapering  at 
each  end,  and  having  a  hole  through  lengthwise,  I 
strung  over  on  a  not  overstrong  cotton  string,  and 
caught  up  the  lower  end  of  one  of  the  brass  links 
below,  connecting  it  with  the  one  above  by  the  cotton 
string  carrying  the  sinker.  The  string  was  strong 
enough  to  carry  easily  the  pull  of  the  trolling  bait, 
but  would  break  and  drop  off  the  sinker  by  the  strike 
of  the  salmon  and  leave  my  line  free.  The  loss  of 
the  sinker  would,  of  course,  occur,  but  was  of  slight 
importance  and  value. 

As  the  hooked  salmon  approaches  the  light  at  the 
surface,  and  has  been  unable  to  throw  off  the  hook, 
his  alarm  is  much  increased,  and  he  starts  out  with 
great  rapidity  in  some  direction  opposite  from  the 
boat,  and  with  an  impetuosity  impossible  to  speedily 
check.  It  may  be  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  or 
more,  before  the  hard-pressed  reel  pad  on  the  line  and 
the  strain  of  the  rod  almost  surely  incline  the  head 
of  the  fish  to  one  side  or  the  other,  which  being  once 
accomplished  practically  settles  the  successful  take; 
for   the   salmon,   once   being   turned   from   a  straight 


A  Sportsman  315 

course,  must  thereafter  yield  to  the  boat  in  a  circling 
route,  from  which  he  can  hardly  escape,  carrying 
in  addition  to  the  rod  and  reel  strain  that  of  dragging 
the  line  across  the  waters. 

Should  a  large  salmon — say  of  twenty-five  pounds 
weight  or  more — go  directly  away  from  the  boat  without 
being  diverted,  it  would  most  likely  run  out  all  the 
line  and  part  it,  as  occurred  in  two  instances  during 
my  experience.  But  the  severe  strain  which  can  be 
exerted  from  the  reel  and  rod  is  almost  sure  to  divert 
the  fish  from  its  apparent  fixed  purpose  of  getting 
away  as  far  as  possible  from  the  boat  on  the  route 
it  first  determines  upon.  A  sufficient  pressure  can 
be  put  upon  the  thumb  pad  of  the  reel  to  part  the 
line,  or  tear  out  the  hook  if  not  firmly  placed.  A 
danger  also  exists  from  the  overrunning  of  the  line 
if  the  drag  is  not  judiciously  applied;  also  from  the 
line's  sinking  in  the  balance  of  line  on  the  reel  when 
too  much  pressure  is  applied,  particularly  when 
the  line  has  not  been  firmly  and  evenly  reeled  in 
before,  from  which  cause  an  entanglement  takes 
place  and  the  salmon  is  almost  surely  lost. 

A  large  shark  occasionally  takes  the  bait,  too  large 
for  handling,  and  taking  to  the  bottom  cannot  be  raised 
by  any  strain  from  the  rod,  and  has  to  be  cut  away. 
A  variety  of  other  fishes  will  also  often  take  the  bait, 
although  if  the  salmon  are  present  in  force  they  will 
take  the  bait  almost  exclusively.  Among  those  mostly 
taken  while  salmon  trolling  are  the  rock  cods,  from 
four  to  twelve  pounds  in  weight,  which,  unlike  those 
of  the  deeper  offshore  waters,  of  the  usual  color,  are 
a  handsome  fish  varying  in  many  degrees  of  red  and 
brown,  and  are  excellent  eating.     Next  most  plenti- 


3i6  Reminiscences  of 

ftil  are  the  so-called  blue-fish,  not  to  be  classed  with 
those  of  the  same  name  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  being 
shaped  like  the  cod,  excepting  flatter,  and  good  eating. 
The  small  sharks  are  a  great  bother,  plentiful  and 
worthless.  Sometimes  a  school  of  large  mackerel 
is  struck,  from  which  a  number  may  be  taken,  weigh- 
ing from  two  to  four  pounds.  Also  a  school  of  sea 
bass,  not  the  striped,  introduced  in  late  years  from 
the  Atlantic  waters,  but  the  indigenous  silvery  bass, 
which  run  from  fifteen  to  sixty  pounds,  and  afford 
good  sport  from  their  gamy  qualities,  fighting  hard 
for  five  or  ten  minutes,  but  passive  when  yielding. 
These  are  highly  esteemed  for  market  fish.  They 
are  not  generally  struck  with  the  salmon,  but  by 
themselves  apart,  and  more  often  about  the  beds  of 
kelp,  and  when  found  may  be  well  followed  up  for 
sport,  and  a  good  score  may  be  made  from  them,  as 
a   school   is   often   extensive. 

Yellowtails  come  in  later  in  the  season,  running 
from  ten  to  thirty  pounds,  which  are  very  gamy,  but 
not  applicable  for  food.  The  leaping  tuna  is  also 
an  occasional  visitor  at  Monterey  Bay,  and  it  is  a 
great  sight  to  see  a  large  school  of  these  moving  rapidly 
forward  on  the  surface  of  the  perhaps  rough  water, 
breaking  and  splashing  the  waves  with  their  power- 
ful tails,  leaving  a  wake  of  foam  and  commotion. 
They  are,  however,  very  rarely  taken  in  the  bay, 
as  they  frequent  the  waters  south  more  plentifully, 
particularly  at  the  Catalina  Islands. 

I  had  the  good  fortune  on  one  occasion,  when  a 
school  was  about  in  Monterey  Bay,  to  take  one  of 
sixty  pounds,  which  gave  me  great  play,  and  which 
at  several  moments  I  expected  to  lose  when  brought 


A  Sportsman  317 

to  the  extremity  of  the  hne,  but  it  fortunately  turned, 
enabling  me  each  time  to  take  in  slack,  and  I  finally 
brought  it  to  gaflf  after  half  an  hour's  fight.  On  the 
same  day  my  hook  was  taken,  evidently  by  a  still 
larger  one,  that  made  a  straight  run  oflf,  carrying 
away  all  my  line  with  startling  rapidity,  upon  whom 
my  attempts  at  checking  up  made  no  impression. 

Off  the  Catalina  Island — which  lies  a  few  miles 
from  the  California  coast  opposite  Los  Angeles — the 
tuna  is  oftentimes  found  in  profusion  during  the 
summer  months,  and  is  undoubtedly  the  largest  game 
fish  in  the  sea,  and  is  often  found  much  larger  than 
the  ability  of  a  rod  fisherman  can  possibly  overcome, 
running  up  to  several  hundreds  of  pounds,  and  even 
a  thousand  pounds  has  been  given  as  a  maximum. 
When  struck  it  goes  off  with  great  speed,  with  occa- 
sional leapings  from  the  water,  and  slashes  about  in 
a  manner  indicative  of  great  power.  The  favorite 
bait  used  at  the  island  is  the  flying-fish,  employed 
with  a  special  rod  and  reel,  and  a  thousand  feet  of 
line.  A  tuna  of  two  hundred  pounds  may  be  ac- 
counted as  the  limit,  and  requires  several  hours  of 
hard  work  to  fetch  in.  It  is  in  reality  a  huge  horse 
mackerel,  and  worthless  for  food,  and  is  thrown  away 
for  the  sharks  and  other  fishes  to  consume. 

The  jewfish,  or  large  black  bass,  is  plentifully 
caught  also  at  the  island,  and,  being  of  less  fighting, 
qualities  than  the  tuna,  is  brought  in  weighing  sev- 
eral hundred  pounds,  after  hours  of  dull,  heavy  work 

The  yellowtails  are  more  plentiful  about  the  Cat- 
alina Island  than  elsewhere,  and  although  worthless 
for  food  are  perhaps  the  very  gamest  fish  in  the  sea 
for  their  size,  and  run  up  occasionally  to  fifty  pounds. 


3i8  Reminiscences  of 

At  Monterey  Bay  they  are  frequently  found,  and  he 
who  gets  one  on  his  trolUng  Une  will  have  the  liveliest 
work  of  his  experience ;  and,  as  with  the  tuna,  it  is  full 
of  irregular  actions,  and  unexpected  turns,  and  may 
suddenly,  when  apparently  botind  for  some  distant 
clime,  come  with  a  rush  for  the  boat  faster  than  one 
can  reel  up,  and  double  on  the  line  and  mix  itself 
up  in  a  most  unusual  manner. 

Monterey  Bay  is  certainly  a  most  attractive  area 
for  the  fisherman's  sport,  and  without  the  salmon 
his  chances  are  most  favorable  in  trolHng  to  strike 
some  fish  which  wiU  give  him  delight.  It  may  be 
a  shark  or  a  sea  bass,  or  a  barracuda,  blue-fish,  or  cod 
or  flounder.  Perhaps  he  will  strike  a  school  of 
mackerel,  from  which  he  can  take  in  a  score  or  more. 

It  is  estimated  that  in  the  bay  there  are  over  a 
hundred  varieties  of  fishes,  and  it  is  not  vmcommon  to 
see  a  whale  in  the  offing,  or  perhaps  within  a  few 
hundred  feet  of  a  boat,  as  I  have  seen  them  as  near 
when  trolling.  A  young  one  of  twenty-five  feet  in 
length  made  himself  unusually  familiar  for  several 
days  in  the  cove  of  the  bay  a  mile  out  from  the  pier,  a 
place  popular  with  the  ground  fishermen,  whom  he 
alarmed  with  his  playful  ways,  and  one  day  bumped 
roughly  against  one  of  the  boats,  and  was  shot  at  a 
niimber  of  times,  which  he  resented  by  taking  his 
departure. 

The  grampus,  belonging  to  the  whale  family,  are 
quite  common  in  the  bay,  and  have  frequently  an- 
noyed me  when  salmon  trolling  by  their  familiarity, 
coming  up  and  diving  near  my  boat,  particularly  one 
of  them,  which  made  his  rendezvous  off  the  shore  in 
a  locality  I  usually  passed  over  on  my  way  to  the 


A  Sportsman  319 

outer  salmon  grounds,  and  where  I  had  been  taking 
a  salmon  occasionally  as  I  passed  by.  His  presence 
in  that  locality  was  sufficient  to  retard  the  free  action 
of  the  striking  salmon,  as  they  shy  off  from  the  im- 
mediate proximity  of  large  fish,  which  are  presvuned 
to  be  destroyers;  and  this  grampus,  it  seemed  to  me, 
indicated  a  conspicuous  intention  of  waylaying  my 
boat  each  time  I  passed,  and  would  throw  himself  up 
out  of  the  water  sometimes  alarmingly  near,  almost 
threatening  my  boat's  safety,  so  near  that  he  could 
almost  be  touched  with  an  oar. 

It  was  not  very  pleasant  for  an  immense  cetacean 
of  this  character,  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  in 
length  and  weighing  over  a  ton,  to  come  up  within 
ten  feet  of  the  boat  in  his  porpoise-like  frolic,  how- 
ever friendly  might  be  his  disposition,  and  I  made  an 
inward  vow  to  look  after  him  shortly,  and  accord- 
ingly went  out  in  a  following  afternoon  equipped 
for  him  with  a  large  sailboat  and  my  two  men,  a 
whale  harpoon  and  rope,  and  a  musket  carrying  an 
ounce  ball.  We  found  him  in  his  usual  locahty,  and 
soon  had  him  come  up  within  fifteen  feet  of  the  boat, 
and  I  cast  my  harpoon  at  him  with  all  the  force  I 
could  muster;  but  my  want  of  experience  in  this  Hne 
was  limited  and  I  failed  to  fasten  him,  and  he  gave 
no  further  opportunity  for  a  good  cast,  keeping  too 
far  away,  and  after  an  hoxir's  effort.  I  concluded  to 
give  him  a  shot  from  the  musket.  This  I  did  as  he 
rose  some  fifty  feet  off,  aiming  at  his  head.  I  heard 
the  ball  strike  him,  and  he  disappeared.  Little  ex- 
pectations I  had  of  seeing  him  more,  though  we  tacked 
about  for  half  an  hour,  but  saw  no  further  rises  from 
him,    and    turned    homeward.     Looking    aft    as    we 


320  Reminiscences  of 

proceeded  on,  I  saw  what  I  thought  to  be  a  red  blanket 
floating  on  the  surface  of  the  sea  not  far  astern,  and 
drew  the  attention  of  my  men  to  it;  a  veritable  red 
blanket  it  seemed,  but  my  men  said  immediately 
it  was  the  blood  from  the  grampus,  and  we  put  back 
towards  it,  and  shortly  saw  the  grampus  come  out 
and  down,  not  far  off.  As  I  observed  him  when  he 
came  up  I  distinctly  saw  the  blood  running  down  the 
side  of  his  head,  and  again  and  again  he  came  up  and 
down,  still  bleeding.  This  indicated  a  severe  wound, 
and  the  grampus  by  its  slow  movements  convinced 
us  that  its  end  was  near.  With  harpoon  ready  we 
followed  close,  and  I  soon  had  a  close  approach  as  he 
came  up,  and  put  the  harpoon  in  successfully,  when, 
allowing  a  good  slack,  we  warped  the  rope  around 
a  post  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  and  went  off  at  good 
speed,  with  a  crest  rolling  wave  at  our  bow.  We 
found  he  had  much  strength  remaining,  and  kept 
up  his  brisk  gait  for  ten  or  twelve  minutes,  when  his 
speed  diminished,  and  soon  after  gave  out  entirely, 
and  his  huge  body  floated  on  the  surface.  We  waited 
for  his  death  flurry,  but  it  did  not  come,  and  we  hauled 
our  boat  uj)  to  him  and  fixed  a  noose  line  over  his 
broad  tail,  and  set  sail  with  a  fair  strong  breeze  to 
the  Monterey  pier. 

Quite  a  number  of  bathers  from  the  Del  Monte 
were  in  at  the  beach  watching  our  approach  when 
we  landed  from  our  boat.  Our  grampus  was  grounded 
some  thirty  feet  from  the  shore,  and  all  joined  us  in 
the  haul  ashore,  making  an  advance  with  our  grampus 
with  each  successive  lifting  wave  as  it  rolled  in.  But 
the  united  force  was  not  sufficient,  with  more  than'a 
score  of  pullers,  to  get  the  body  clear  from   the  water, 


A  Sportsman  321 

and  the  finale  occurred  when  the  last  grand  pull 
took  place,  which  broke  the  rope,  and  sent  all  tumbling 
down  on  the  sand.  The  tail  end  of  our  victim  was 
well  out,  however,  and  the  retreating  tide  soon  left 
him  clear.  I  gave  him  to  my  men,  who  tried  out  two 
barrels  of  oil  from  him.  We  estimated  his  weight 
as  a  little  rising  from  a  ton.  His  black,  glossy  hide, 
for  he  had  a  veritable  hide,  was  tough  and  thick,  and 
almost  impervious  to  the  penetration  of  a  knife  blade. 
He  had  a  few  blunt  teeth  on  his  lower  jaw,  two  inches 
in  diameter,  but  no  others.  My  ball  had  penetrated 
by  chance  a  large  blood  vein,  cutting  through  to  the 
lungs,   which  was  fatal. 

The  grampus  is  not  a  fish,  but  a  warm-blooded 
animal  of  the  sea,  kindred  in  famity  with  the  whale, 
killer,  walrus,  porpoise,  dolphin,  etc.  Its  food  prin- 
cipally consists  of  small  fishes,  and  the  occasional 
large  class,  as  salmon,  cod,  flounders,  etc.,  when  good 
fortune  attends  his   comparatively  slow  movements. 

Another  animal  of  the  sea  of  the  grampus  family 
which  I  had  experience  in  meeting,  of  which  little  is 
known  by  the  general  public,  is  known  as  the  killer 
{Orca  Gladiator  of  the  genus  Orciniis).  This  is  the  free- 
booter of  the  sea,  the  pirate,  the  terrible;  ravenous 
and  ferocious,  and  of  desperate  courage.  As  the  wolf, 
it  fights  in  packs,  and  nothing  in  the  sea  can  with- 
stand it,  when  united  with  others  in  contest.  The 
mighty  whale,  the  largest  animal  of  nature  on  earth, 
succumbs  to  the  united  efforts,  and  the  wonder  is 
that  even  they  can  exist. 

It  is  no  idle  tale  I  shall  relate  of  them,  nor  do  I 
mean  to  adduce  any  instances  as  facts  which  cannot 
be  substantiated  by  sufficient  evidence.     If  you  will 


322  Reminiscences  of 

consult  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica  you  will  ob- 
serve the  instance  of  one  captured,  measuring  thirty- 
seven  feet  in  length,  which  contained  thirteen  por- 
poises and  fourteen  seals,  which  seem  almost  incredible. 

Their  habitation  is  principally  in  the  northern  and 
Arctic  seas,  though  found  about  as  far  south  as  Mon- 
terey. Their  usual  weight  is  from  three  to  four  tons, 
and  their  length  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet.  Their  food 
is  principally  of  their  own  genus — warm-blooded  an- 
imals of  the  sea,  porpoises,  walruses,  seals,  sea-lions, 
etc., — and  like  the  wolves  of  the  land  they  devour 
their  own  wounded  kind.  They  have  enormously 
large  mouths,  capable  of  taking  in  a  whole  porpoise 
or  seal,  and  have  immensely  strong  jaws  with  about 
forty  tusk  like  teeth,  of  an  inch  and  a  half  diameter, 
and  from  two  to  three  inches  in  length,  with  a  double 
row  on  the  lower  jaw. 

They  will  attack  a  whale  without  hesitancy,  and 
tear  from  the  lips  and  sides  slabs  of  a  hundred  pounds, 
and  follow  to  the  greatest  depth  the  whale  will  go. 
The  whale,  timid  by  nature,  will  flee  before  them, 
and  when  hard  pressed  will  loll  out  its  tongue  as  a  dog 
will  when  fatigued.  This  will  be  seized  by  the  killer 
and  torn  away,  and  my  boatmen — ^both  old  whalers — 
related  to  me  two  instances,  occurring  off  Monterey 
Bay,  where  whales  were  taken,  for  what  blubber  re- 
mained on  their  bitten-up  carcasses,  dying,  tongueless, 
and  this  was  substantiated  to  me  by  Michael  Noon,  a 
responsible  man  in  charge  of  the  Monterey  pier. 

The  business  of  whaling  has  been  carried  on  for 
many  years  from  Monterey,  by  men  engaged  in  it 
from  land  stations,  who  when  observing  by  glasses 
the  blowing  of  whales  off    the  coast,  go  out  in  their 


A  Sportsman  323 

whaleboats,  equipped  with  the  usual  outfit,  and 
after  harpooning  and  securing  a  whale,  cut  oflf  the 
blubber,  and  securing,  tow  it  in  rafts  to  the  shore 
for  trying  out  the  oil. 

Several  instances  have  occurred  when,  securing 
the  blubber  and  towing  it  by  their  boats  to  land, 
they  have  been  attacked  by  the  killers  and  lost  their 
cargoes.  One  of  my  men  related  to  me,  having  been 
on  hand  in  such  an  instance,  the  particulars  in  the 
case;  that,  suddenly  attacked  by  a  pack  of  killers 
when  towing  in  two  rafts  of  blubber  they  had  ob- 
tained by  cutting  up  a  large  whale,  they  were  power- 
less to  prevent  the  total  loss  of  their  rafts,  although 
they  lanced  a  number  of  the  killers,  which  had  no 
effect  upon  the  balance  of  the  pack.  I  saw  one  of 
these  killers  towed  to  Monterey  beach,  which  had 
been  found  by  the  fishermen  in  a  dying  condition 
in  the  bay,  resulting  from  being  choked  by  an  extra- 
large  seal,  and  had  three  other  whole  seals  in  its 
stomach. 

Singular  that  no  instance  is  known  of  a  man's 
being  taken  in  by  a  killer,  while  swimming  in  the 
water,  or  of  boats  being  disturbed  by  them,  when  it 
would  be  a  simple  feat  to  knock  them  over,  or  crush 
them.  The  largest  sharks  will  flee  before  them, 
and  will  be  fortunate  if  not  torn  to  pieces  and  de- 
voured by  them,  which  is  a  common  occurrence. 
Seals  and  sea-Uons  are  a  favorite  food  for  them,  and 
the  largest  of  the  latter,  of  the  weight  of  a  ton,  with 
its  hide  tougher  than  that  of  a  bull,  will  be  torn  to 
pieces  and  devoured  by  them  in  short  order. 

The  sea-lions  are  very  plentiful  on  the  coast,  off 
the  seventeen-mile  drive   between   the  bays  of  Mon- 


324  Reminiscences  of 

terey  and  Carmelo,  and  can  be  observed  at  times 
upon  the  island  rocks  off  the  shore  by  scores,  rest- 
ing and  sunning  themselves  after  their  food-seeking- 
swims,  and  their  roaring  can  be  heard  a  long  ways 
off.  Alert  and  swift  as  they  are  in  the  sea,  they  are 
slow  and  clumsy  on  the  rocks,  and  in  getting  out 
of  the  water  upon  them.  On  the  approach  of  the 
killers  they  can  be  seen  coming  in  from  all  quarters, 
and  hurriedly  seeking  refuge  on  the  rocks,  and  seem 
to  receive  an  intimation  of  danger  in  their  scat- 
tered localities,  by  that  3'et  unknown  and  undefined 
sense  which  communicates  alarm  and  occurrences 
so  often  between  the  denizens  of  the  sea,  though 
widely  separated.  The  salmon  also  cease  feeding 
and  disappear  upon  the  approach  of  the  killers, 
striking  out  in  a  body  for  deep  water,  and  cannot  be 
caught  for  a  day  or  two  in  the  previous  localities. 

As  well  known  to  whalers,  when  one  in  a  large 
school  of  whales  separated  over  an  area  of  a  dozen 
square  miles  is  harpooned,  it  is  immediately  com- 
municated to  all  others,  though  a  number  of  miles 
intervene  between  them.  This  has  been  repeatedly 
observed  from  a  whaling  ship,  and  by  the  second 
boat  out  for  harpooning,  when  the  first  boat  has 
fastened  to  a  whale. 

The  first  appearance  of  the  killers  occurred  with  me 
one  day  at  Carmelo  Bay,  nearly  twenty  miles  south 
of  Monterey,  where  my  boat  was  the  sole  one  in  that 
pretty  little  bay  of  two  miles  wide.  The  first  intima- 
tion I  had  of  the  approach  of  the  killers  was  when 
we  saw  several  sea-lions  hurriedly  clambering  up  some 
island  rocks  near  the  shore,  and  the  salmon,  before 
plentiful,  had  ceased  striking. 


A  Sportsman  325 

"Killers,"  said  one  of  my  men,  "and  there  they 
are,"  he  continued,  "a  large  pack  coming  around 
into  the  bay  from  a  point  south." 

I  looked  and  saw  them,  not  half  a  mile  off,  a  sin- 
gular sight,  like  a  broken  body  of  infantry  with 
bayonets  up,  and  nothing  more  visible,  a  very 
peculiar  sight,  for  the  killers  have  a  slim  black  dorsal 
fin,  some  five  or  six  feet  in  height,  which  they 
carry  afloat  above  the  water  as  they  swim  along  on 
the  surface,  as  they  proceed  when  not  engaged  in 
pursuit  or  feeding.  We  were  a  mile  away  from  our 
landing,  and  I  will  confess  I  felt  a  sudden  emotion 
of  apprehensiveness,  as  I  saw  this  murderous  gang 
of  sea  bandits  coming  directly  upon  us.  But  my  men 
said,  "No  fear,  they  will  not  harm  us,"  although  I 
foimd  they  had  some  little  apprehensiveness  them- 
selves. 

Soon  they  were  all  around  us,  but  scattering,  with 
occasionally  some  so  near  that  we  could  plainly  see 
their  black  bodies,  with  the  white  splashes  on  their 
heads;  sportivel}',  some  were  slashing  carelessly  about 
with  their  cross-set  tails,  plainly  evincing  their  great 
power,  and  I  thought  how  easily  one  of  them  could 
smash  up  our  boat  in  a  twinkling,  if  desired.  I  estimated 
their  number  at  one  hundred  and  fifty,  which  my 
men  conceded,  for  they  could  not  be  readily  counted, 
as  some  of  them  would  go  under  now  and  then  for 
a  time,  soon  reappearing.  It  was  a  most  astonishing 
sight,  more  so  than  anything  I  ever  witnessed,  and 
I  have  seen  half  a  hundred  whales  about  me.  They 
were  so  many  pirates  of  the  sea  with  their  black  flags 
hoisted.  I  thought  some  of  them  looked  at  us  very 
suspiciously  with  their  oval  eyes,  white-spotted  below, 


326  Reminiscences  of 

but  they  were  evidently  at  the  time  good-natured. 
I  was  reUeved  when  they  passed  on,  and  they  appar- 
ently gave  us  small  regard. 

Think  of  the  immense  amount  of  food  daily  re- 
quired by  a  band  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  these 
pirates,  and  how  bountiful  it  must  be,  but  there  are 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  porpoises,  seals  and  Uons 
waiting  for  them.  Fifty  tons  of  food  would  no 
more  than  give  a  good  meal  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  killers. 

I  had  before  reeled  up  my  line,  as  successful  troll- 
ing for  salmon  was  of  the  past,  and  there  were  no 
more  salmon  caught  there  for  several  days.  In 
fact,  the  killers  ended  up  the  good  fishing  for  the 
season. 

Among  the  owners  of  market  fishing  boats,  and 
fishermen  at  Monterey — where  there  are  quite  a 
large  number,  as  the  station  is  one  of  first  import- 
ance in  supplying  the  state  demands — are  a  niamber 
of  interesting  personalities:  old  whalers,  sailors  and 
sea  rangers.  Most  of  them  are  Italians  and  Portu- 
guese, with  a  motley  variety  of  Americans,  Swedes, 
Norwegians  and  Mexicans,  down  to  the  industrious 
Chinese.  The  latter  are  much  by  themselves,  and 
confined  mostly  to  near-shore  ground  fishing,  and 
netting  of  squids,  shrimps  and  small  fish.  They 
have  almost  exclusively  the  gathering  of  the  large 
abalones  fovmd  on  the  coast  between  the  shores  of 
Monterey  and  Carmelo,  which  are  gathered  at  low 
tide.  The  abalone  shells  are  in  demand  for  the  beauti- 
ful iridescent  colors  shown  on  the  inner  surface,  and 
the  meats  are  dried  in  the  sun  for  export  to  China, 
with  shrimps,  squid  and  small  fishes. 


A  Sportsman  327 

It  has  been  very  interesting  for  me  to  hear  the 
yams  from  some  of  the  old  whalers  and  sailors,  too 
numerous  to  recite,  and  in  some  instances  perhaps 
beyond  reasonable  belief.  A  recitation  of  their  yams 
would  fill  a  tolerably  good-sized  book.  It  was  a 
favorite  frequenting  place  of  mine  at  the  pier  dur- 
ing the  several  months  I  was  a  resident  of  Monterey, 
early  in  the  afternoon,  to  see  the  catches  of  fish  which 
came  in  by  the  returning  fishermen,  for  the  varieties 
of  fishes  were  nvunerous,  with  an  occasional  show- 
ing of  something  remarkable,  out  of  the  regular 
line. 

One  of  their  accounts  relating  to  the  "killers,"  which 
I  have  referred  to,  interested  me  very  much,  of  which 
I  have  remembrance  of  seeing  some  account  in  some 
newspaper,  and,  although  of  extravagant  quahty, 
I  will  put  it  together  as  best  I  can;  for  the  account, 
seemingly  so  improbable  as  it  would  appear  to  many, 
does  not  seem  so  to  me,  and  if  the  incidents  relating 
to  the  aid  given  to  the  whalers  by  the  killers  did  not 
take  place,  I  beheve  that  they  could  be  made  to  occur. 

The  scene  of  action  was  at  Twofold  Bay,  a  deep- 
water  harbor  off  the  southern  coast  of  New  South 
Wales,  one  noted  for  its  varieties  of  fishes,  as  Monterey 
Bay  is  on  the  California  Coast. 

The  killers,  though  not  numerous  there,  frequented 
the  bay  to  some  extent,  and  my  informant  had 
witnessed  their  actions  in  different  waters  and  when 
in  combat  with  whales,  and  in  one  instance  when 
they  were  accompanied  by  a  thresher  shark  of  enor- 
mous proportions  acting  in  union,  which  dealt  fear- 
ful blows  upon  a  whale  attacked,  with  its  striking 
tail,   its  adaptation  in  that  respect  being  remarkable. 


328  Reminiscences  of 

while  the  killers  tore  the  unfortunate  victims  to 
death,  at  which  they  joined  in  devouring. 

At  the  Bay,  a  family  of  Davidsons — ^father  and  sons 
— had  established  a  whaling  station  similar  to  the  one 
at  Monterey  Bay,  where  they  had  carried  on  for  many 
years  the  business  of  whaling  in  conjunction  with 
a  moderate  number  of  killers,  a  dozen  in  nvimber, 
with  whom  the  family  had  intimate  and  friendly 
business  relations,  which  had  existed  over  a  dozen 
years.  These  killers  periodically  departed  from  Two- 
fold Bay,  but  would  return  regularly  to  their  accus- 
tomed haunts,  and  were  so  familiar  with  the  Davidsons 
as  to  be  named  separately  and  individually:  one  Tom 
Tug,  from  his  stripping  success,  another  Fatty,  another 
Flukey,  etc.,  each  being  well  known  and  separately 
designated. 

The  killers  accompanying  the  Davidsons  with 
boats,  would  seize  and  hold  a  whale  while  the  father 
and  sons  would  lance  it  to  death,  whereupon  the 
killers  would  drag  the  whale  below  and  feast  upon 
it  to  their  fill.  In  a  day  or  a  day  and  a  half,  the 
whale  would  from  a  natural  action  rise  to  the 
surface,  the  place  being  marked  by  a  buoy;  where- 
upon the  body  would  be  towed  to  the  shore  for  trying 
out. 

The  method  of  holding  an  ordinary-sized  whale 
was  most  systematic,  the  killers  distributing  them- 
selves about  the  body,  and  fastening  on  with  bull- 
dog-like grips,  with  an  occasional  letting  go  by  one 
or  two  of  the  killers,  who  would  swim  off  a  matter 
of  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet,  and  returning  with  all 
their  speed  would  strike  the  whale  the  most  terrific 
blows  with   their  heads,   and   then   fasten   on   again. 


A  Sportsman  329 

anon  tearing  off  large  slabs  of  blubber  from  the 
belly  and  about  the  head.  At  times  the  whale  would 
get  below  before  it  could  be  lanced,  but  would  be 
followed  to  any  depth  it  could  go,  returning  more  or 
less  exhausted  to  the  surface,  throwing  itself  out 
clear  with  the  ferocious  wolves  of  the  sea  still  fastened 
on. 

The  Davidsons  stationed  one  of  their  number 
during  the  whaling  season  by  or  at  an  old  light- 
house on  a  headland,  where  an  open  view  of  the  sea 
w^as  shown,  and  here  the  sea  was  scanned  by  the 
aid  of  a  powerful  glass,  and  from  where  the  spout- 
ing of  a  whale  could  be  observed  at  a  distance  of  two 
or  three  miles ;  but  when  a  whale  in  its  pleasant  mood 
"breached"  by  throwing  itself  bodily  out  of  the 
water,  as  it  is  wont  to  do,  creating  a  great  commotion 
and  splashing  of  waves  and  spray,  it  could  be  seen 
five  or  six  miles  oflf.  The  killers  of  course  could 
not  see  this,  lazily  sporting  about  in  the  small  bay, 
spouting  now  and  then,  and  showing  their  black 
glistening  backs  as  they  rose  to  roll  or  dive,  remain- 
ing in  waiting  during  the  whaling  season,  not  far 
from  the  two  whaling  boats  kept  in  readiness  near 
the  trj-'ing-out  station,  their  dependence  being  largely 
placed  upon  the  Davidson  family. 

Whales  being  sighted  out  in  the  offing,  and  the 
fluttering  flag  signals  two  or  three  miles  south  from 
the  boats,  thrown  out  at  the  light  house  station, 
aroused  excited  action  at  the  boat  station,  and  the 
men  at  the  trying  work  rushed  to  the  oars. 

"There  they  blow,  at  the  north-west,  humpbacks 
steering  north." 

Off  went  the  boats,  fully  equipped,  at  their  best  speed 


330  Reminiscences  of 

but  they  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  the  killers,  who 
ranged  themselves  alongside  and  ahead  of  the  leading 
boat,  keeping  well  outside  the  oars,  leaping,  rolling 
and  breaching  in  wild  joy  with  the  prospects  of  a 
bloody  fray.  As  they  approached  the  whales  a  slower 
oar  was  pulled,  and  in  a  moment  the  killers  disap- 
peared. They  had  heard  or  seen  the  spouting  and 
splashing  ahead,  and  before  the  boats  could  arrive  were 
among   the  whales. 

Humpbacks,  stire  enough,  and  now  a  mighty 
scene  of  uplifting  of  huge  bodies  and  lashing  of  the  waters 
occurs,  an  area  of  white  swirling  foam,  amid  which 
the  frantic  whales  sound  for  escape,  but  not  before 
a  dozen  ferocious  killers  have  selected  their  victim, 
which  they  are  to  do  more  than  half  the  work  in 
capturing.  Skilfully  avoiding  the  flukes,  they  fasten 
on  with  their  bulldog  grips,  tearing  away  as  they 
can  huge  strips  of  skin  and  blubber,  especially  fast- 
ening on  about  the  head.  Their  victim,  distracted 
and  torn,  vainly  attempts  to  sound  with  his  com- 
rades, for  now  they  are  gone,  and  if  he  can  possibly 
follow,  he  cannot  rid  himself  of  the  devilish  fiends 
who  beset  him  with  undiminished  savagery.  Per- 
haps half  a  hundred  fathoms  he  may  sound,  but  never 
a  moment  can  he  be  free  from  his  desperate  clinging 
destroyers.  Bleeding  and  frantic,  and  more  winded 
than  his  wont  when  below,  he  must  return  to  the 
surface  again,  where  the  boats  manned  with  hvmian 
foes  are  calmly  awaiting  his  appearance. 

There  is  no  escape  for  him  in  the  depths  of  the  sea, 
nor  where  the  smilight  in  fulness  gleams.  He  may 
rise  near  the  boats  or  some  distance  away,  but  he 
cannot  get  below  again,  for  his  enemies  are  too  power- 


A  Sportsman  331 

ful,  leaping  at  times  entirely  over  his  body,  and  attack 
him  with  redoubled  fierceness,  tearing  away  from 
above  and  below,  from  the  great  corrugations  of 
his  ribbed  belly,  and  his  huge  lips,  and  perhaps  have 
already  torn  away  his  elephantine  tongue,  which  for 
the  killers  is  a  delicate  and  sought-for  morsel.  One 
or  two  of  the  killers  may  illustrate  the  great  pounding 
act,  one  blow  of  which  has  been  known  to  render 
a  whale  temporarily  senseless,  and  the  hapless  victim, 
the  largest  animal  of  the  earth,  now  near  its  last  ex- 
tremity, moves  around  in  circles,  sometimes  turning 
over   on   its  back,    or   swimming   on   its   side. 

Now,  then,  for  the  last  act  in  this  sad  drama.  The 
leading  boat  cautiously  pulls  for  the  favorable  putting 
of  the  iron.  The  long  lance  is  sped  by  powerful 
hand  in  a  vital  spot  and  penetrates  the  tough  skin  as  a 
fork  would  that  of  an  apple.  Withdrawn,  the  warm 
blood  gushes  out  following,  and  perhaps  two  or  three 
more  swift  thrusts  are  made  with  equal  success,  and 
then  with  the  cry  "Stem  all!"  the  boat  backs  away 
from  the  death  flurry,  which  even  the  killers  drop 
away  from.  All  is  over,  and  the  mighty  monarch 
of  the  ocean,  with  its  mountain  of  flesh,  is  placid 
in  death.  Scarcely,  for  before  the  last  tremulousness 
of  the  flurry  is  over,  by  a  simultaneous  effort  of  all 
the  killers,  the  body  is  seized  and  dragged  below; 
as  the  sanguinary  animals  of  the  forest  drag  their 
victims  to  convenient  places  for  devouring,  so  with 
these  wolves  of  the  sea,  who  invariably,  as  experienced 
by  the  Davidson  family,  drag  the  whale's  carcass 
to  the  bottom,  or  at  least  to  a  considerable  depth, 
where  they  indulge  in  a  great  feast,  gorging  them- 
selves to  fulness. 


332  Reminiscences  of 

The  boats,  dropping  out  a  buoy  with  sufficient 
hne,  with  which  they  are  prepared,  return  to  the 
shore,  until  the  second  day  after,  when  if  the  whale 
carcass  is  not  yet  up  they  wait  for  it  as  it  is  sure  to 
soon  after  come  up,  when  it  is  towed  to  the  trying 
works.  The  Killers,  whether  actuated  by  a  sense 
of  duty  or  not  to  render  proper  obsequies  to  the  de- 
parted, accompany  the  body  to  the  surface  and  to 
the  trying  works;  but  it  may  be  a  question  if  their 
inclination  to  blubber  has  not  a  bearing  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  if  they  are  not  influenced  more  by  a  self- 
ish desire. 

At  least  the  killers  accompany  the  body  to  the 
trying  works,  and  are  a  safeguard  against  sharks, 
giving  themselves  interim  a  replenishment  of  stom- 
ach, which  is  a  slight  loss,  compared  with  the  ad- 
vantages  of   their   services. 

The  Davidsons  claim  that  with  the  late  low  prices 
of  oil  they  could  not  carry  on  the  whaling  busi- 
ness without  the  aid  of  the  killers,  and  have  been 
reticent  about  giving  the  information,  which  is 
imparted  here  by  one  who  claimed  to  have  been  a 
personal  witness  on  several  occasions,  acting  as  an 
emploj'^e,  and  who  states  many  other  particulars ;  that 
there  had  been  other  occasions  than  those  experi- 
enced by  the  Davidsons,  where  the  killers  had  ren- 
dered material  aid  to  whalers  in  the  north  seas,  that 
no  instances  had  ever  been  known  when  the  killers 
had  ever  disturbed  boats,  or  injured  men  in  the  water, 
though  the}'  had  been  known  repeatedly  to  approach 
men  who  had  been  knocked  overboard  and  to  sniff 
at,  and  go  away  from  them,  without  any  manifest- 
ations of  devouring  interest;  that  they  were,  despite 


A  Sportsman  333 

their  ferocity,  the  most  sagacious,  cunning  and  ex- 
pert creatures  which  Hved  in  the  sea,  possessing  un- 
paralleled daring  and  persistence,  and  would  hover 
around  the  sea-lion  rocks  for  days,  and  had  been  seen 
repeatedly  to  come  up  suddenly  from  deep  water 
close  along-side  jutting-out  rocks  where  sea-lions  were 
basking,  and  snatch  them  away,  although  they  were 
five  or  six  feet  above  the  water — this  has  been  con- 
firmed by  a  number  who  claimed  to  have  witnessed 
it;  that  whalers  have  witnessed  them  not  only 
with  the  thresher  or  fox  shark,  but  accompanied 
by  large   sword-fish   in   attacks  upon  whales. 

Think  of  what  a  grand  sport  and  top  holding  in 
sports  this  would  be  for  an  ambitious  sportsman 
wishing  to  exceed  all  others  and  achieve  the  record 
over  all,  with  the  ocean  for  his  field  and  the  whale 
for  his  game,  with  a  pack  of  killers  at  his  heels, 
and  it  may  be  recommended  to  those  who  are  en- 
nuied  with  the  tame  pastime  of  hunting  wild  boars, 
stags,  and  mountain  lions  with  dogs,  to  take  a  hold- 
ing on  some  northern  coast  station,  and  give  him- 
self over  to  the  conquest  of  mighty  whales,  the  largest 
animals  of  creation,  attended  by  gladiatorial  bull- 
dogs of  the  sea. 

The  captain  of  a  whaling  ship  which  returned 
from  a  winter's  whaling  in  the  Behring  Sea,  a  few 
years  ago,  gave  an  account  of  the  capture  of  a  killer 
by  the  natives  of  that  locality,  which  he  witnessed. 
It  was  at  the  season  when  the  ice  pack  was  breaking 
up,  when  the  walruses,  sea-lions  and  seals  were  being 
disturbed  from  their  winter  quarters  on  the  ice  and 
compelled  to  seek  other  quarters,  a  period  when, 
according   to   the   natives,    the    killers,  long    absent, 


334  Reminiscences  of 

wovild  be  sure  to  come  for  the  advantages  to  be  gained 
in  the  breaking  up  of  the  pack,  as  they  usually  ap- 
peared at  that  time  in  a  most  ravenous  state. 

The  natives  had  been  patrolling  the  ice  pack  for 
some  days  for  walrus,  and  a  visiting  party  accompanied 
the  ship's  crew,  who  were  anxious  to  kiU  a  walrus. 
The  ice,  open  in  some  places,  was  generally  weak 
when  frozen  over,  and  the  creeping  on  to  the 
walrus  was  followed  with  caution.  Some  walruses 
were  observed  in  a  group  near  an  open  water  space,  and 
as  the  party  was  approaching  with  great  care  there 
suddenly  arose  a  huge  black  object  through  the 
ice  from  the  water  below,  throwing  up  the  splin- 
terings  of  ice  high  in  the  air,  and  seized  a  walrus, 
dragging  it  down  below.  It  was  the  work  of  a  moment. 
It  was  a  killer,  which,  observing  the  walrus  from  a 
starting  place  below,  had  shattered  the  decaying 
ice  with  its  ponderous  head,  impelled  with  a  velocity 
which  had  been  known  to  strike  a  whale  momenta- 
rily senseless.  The  witness  was  informed  by  the 
natives  that  an  occurrence  similar  to  this  had  been 
frequently  witnessed.  Shortly  after  this  the  ice  broke 
up  in  the  bay,  and  was  blown  out  by  an  off-shore 
wind,  when  the  Killers  became  plentiful,  and  their 
spoutings   were   often   heard   and   seen. 

One  day  the  natives  started  out  with  three  of 
their  largest  boats,  each  manned  by  half  a  dozen  rowers, 
with  harpoons  and  steerers.  Once  in  the  bay  they 
took  different  directions.  A  mile  out  the  killers 
were  observed,  first  a  school  of  them,  their  high  dorsal 
fins  standing  out  distinctly  against  the  horizon,  and 
at  times  their  glistening  backs  in  the  sun.  Their 
movements  were  slow  and  deliberate,  as  they  swam 


A  Sportsman  335 

slowly  in  single  file,  so  slowly  that  it  was  easy  to  ap- 
proach them.  When  near,  the  leading  crew  approached 
with  great  caution,  avoiding  the  slightest  splash 
or  noise,  but  urging  their  boat  at  the  greatest  possible 
speed. 

The  largest  leading  killer  was  selected,  which  sunk 
itself  moderatel)-  in  the  water  so  that  the  boat  passed 
over  it,  and  at  this  critical  moment  the  harpooner 
threw  his  weapon  with  all  his  power.  As  the  harpoon 
struck,  the  boat  was  backed  with  all  possible  speed, 
but  none  too  soon,  as  the  killer  immediately  leaped 
six  or  seven  feet  clear  from  the  water,  and  then 
dropped  back  with  a  resounding  crash,  sending  heavy 
waves  after  the  boat.  The  moment  the  killer  fell 
to  the  water  it  sounded,  tearing  the  rope  from  the 
coil  with  such  velocity  that  it  fairly  smoked  from 
the  friction  at  the  run  out;  several  hundred  yards 
were  taken  in  this  way,  when  the  killer,  evidently 
grounding,  came  up  with  terrific  rapidity  near  the  boat, 
which  the  dragging  of  the  rope  was  of  trifling  im- 
portance in  retarding.  As  the  killer  reached  the 
surface,  it  came  entirely  out  of  the  water  again, 
falling  back  with  a  crash  from  its  own  weight.  As 
it  fell,  it  lashed  the  surface  water  to  foam  with  its 
powerful  tail,  doubling  itself  up,  and  striking  out 
frantically  in  its  efforts  to  cast  away  the  impaling 
harpoon.  As  it  straightened,  its  flashing  tail  woiold 
strike  on  the  surface  with  a  noise  like  the  report 
of  a  musket.  Finding  it  could  not  disengage  itself 
from  the  harpoon,  it  commenced  to  swim  around 
in  a  circle  with  its  back  exposed,  as  if  looking  for 
its  enemy.  Meantime  the  natives,  not  alarmed,  hauled 
in   the   slack   with   all   their  might. 


336  Reminiscences  of 

When  the  killer  felt  the  pull  it  plunged  down 
and  swam  rapidly  out  to  sea,  the  boatmen  in  the  mean- 
time giving  some  turns  of  the  rope  around  the  bow 
post.  For  several  miles  the  boat  was  dragged  with 
a  velocity  that  imperilled  its  safety,  taking  in  much 
water  which  had  to  be  constantly  bailed  out.  After 
several  miles  had  been  gone  over  the  killer  fortunately 
turned  back  to  the  bay,  with  apparently  less  speed 
than  first  given,  which  gradually  diminished  after 
an  hour's  towing,  and  finally  so  that  the  boatmen 
hauled  back  the  rope  to  within  200  feet  of  the  killer. 

The  other  two  boats,  which  had  followed  as  well 
as  they  could,  were  now  enabled  to  approach  and 
send  in  their  harpoons  to  the  back  of  the  killer,  now 
exposed.  Under  this  additional  afifliction  the  killer 
sounded,  but  not  to  a  great  depth,  for  it  immediately 
appeared,  attacking  one  of  the  boats  from  below 
with  its  head,  which  struck  amidship,  sending  it 
shattered  into  the  air,  and  throwing  out  its  occupants, 
who  managed  to  reach  one  of  the  other  boats,  where 
they  were  hauled   into  safety. 

The  killer,  without  paying  any  attention  to  the 
swimming  men,  completed  the  destruction  of  the 
boat  with  its  powerful  tail,  exhibiting  while  so  doing 
the  snapping  of  its  ferocious  teeth.  The  killer  then, 
apparently  satisfied  with  the  destruction  of  one 
of  the  boats,  began  swimming  around  in  a  circle 
upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  as  he  became 
quieter  he  was  simultaneously  deeply  lanced  from 
each  of  the  two  remaining  boats,  which  immediately 
backed  off  to  avoid  the  death  flurry.  But  too  late, 
for  the  killer  still  had  dangerous  life  left,  and,  instead 
of  yielding  up  its  struggle,  sunk  to  moderate  depth 


A  Sportsman  Zo7 

and  came  up  at  the  bow  of  one  of  the  remaining  boats, 
the  first  intimation  of  which  the  inmates  had  was 
of  its  being  crushed  by  the  jaws  of  the  killer.  No 
attack  was  made  on  the  boatmen  now  swimming 
to  the  last  remaining  boat.  The  end  had  been  reached 
and  on  the  surface  came  the  furious  fiiury  of  the  dying 
gladiator.  Motionless  then  he  rested  amid  the  waters 
agitated  in  his  last  agony,  with  his  glistening  back 
flecked  with  foam. 

A  dear-bought  victory,  as  it  proved  for  the  natives, 
who  towed  their  prize  ashore,  hauhng  it  in  at  high 
water,  and  when  exposed  a  nimiber  of  days,  it  con- 
stituted a  long  feast  for  them;  for  exposure  and 
partial  decay  had  no  objective  effect  on  the  Alaskan 
appetite. 


BUT  returning  to  the  salmon.  The  average  time  I 
foimd  necessary  to  fetch  a  salmon  to  gaff,  I  should 
estimate  from  eight  to  fifteen  minutes,  but  occasionally 
longer;  but  once  getting  my  salmon  turned  in  a  course 
around  the  boat,  his  fate  seemed  decided,  and  around 
it  would  go  several  times,  often  leaping  out  of  the  water, 
exhibiting  its  proportions.  Once  brought  to  the  surface 
the  salmon  keeps  near  it  in  its  runs,  without  attempting 
to  go  below  much,  until  brought  near  the  boat. 

Certainly  no  sight  is  more  beautiful  or  attractive  to 
a  fisherman  than  to  see  in  the  clear  water  this  magnif- 
icent fash  with  its  brilliant  colors  swiftly  gliding  along 
by  the  strokes  of  its  powerful  tail.  When  approaching 
the  surface  in  its  last  exertions,  it  will  appear  of  various 
colors,  black  one  moment,  then  bluish  black,  with 
iridescent  hues,  and  gleaming  white  as  its  belly  upturns. 


33^  Reminiscences  of 

But  its  energies  are  not  entirely  gone,  as  shown  at  the 
stroke  of  the  gaff,  when  it  exerts  new  Ufe,  and  well  held 
must  be  the  gaff,  with  strap  over  wrist,  or  away  may 
the  fish  go,  if  not  quickly  swung  into  the  boat  by  the 
gaff,  and  will  often  flop  out  of  the  boat  if  the  head  blow 
is  not  speedily  given.  No  sight  can  more  gladden  the 
heart  of  a  fisherman  than  that  of  a  dozen  salmon  in 
his  boat  as  he  returns  from  a  morning's  troll. 

I  shotold  say  that  the  market  fishermen  lose  pretty 
nearly  half  the  salmon  they  hook — at  least  when  they 
strike  a  good  school — for  they  act  quickly  to  reap  the 
harvest,  and  pull  in  with  all  their  strength  the  hooked 
salmon  on  their  stout  cotton  hand  lines  with  large  hook 
and  sinker.  They  row  and  sometimes  sail  more  rapidly 
than  one  would  with  a  light  trolling  rod,  and  in  their 
eagerness  often  attempt  with  the  hook  alone  to  lift  their 
fish  into  their  boats,  often  losing  in  this  manner.  They 
tear  out  the  hook  often  in  their  rough  haxoling  in.  They 
sometimes  fish  with  two  hooks,  having  quite  a  stiff  steel 
wire  fastened  to  the  end  of  their  lines,  with  a  spread  of 
three  feet,  and  on  each  end  a  baited  hook  on  a  foot  line, 
and  often  succeed  in  hauling  in  doubles  of  salmon  as 
well  as  of  other  fish. 

But  in  trolling  with  a  light  steel  rod,  with  the  salmon 
freed  from  the  sinker,  it  is  almost  invariably  brought  to 
gaff,  and  not  one  in  a  dozen  of  those  hooked  is  lost, 
even  those  by  a  skin  hold.  I  have  repeatedly  taken 
them  in  hooked  in  this  way,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to 
know  very  quickly  how  the  fish  is  hooked,  and  in  the 
latter  case  handle  more  carefully,  as  trout  fishermen 
do,  when  they  have  hooked  a  trout  in  the  same  way 
But  to  hook  a  salmon  foul,  say  on  the  back,  entails  a  long 
winded  fight,  as  has  occurred  in  one  or  two  of  my  catches. 


A  Sportsman  339 

The  taking  of  salmon  in  the  open  sea,  fresh  in  their 
feeding  habit  upon  their  accustomed  food,  was  such  a 
novel  experience  to  me  that  I  took  pains  to  study  their 
methods  of  feeding,  of  approach,  and  attack,  and  the 
character  of  the  food  upon  which  they  subsist,  which 
gives  them  such  astonishingly  rapid  growth.  These  par- 
ticulars are  important  in  accounting  for  the  splendid 
condition  they  are  almost  invariably  found  in,  when 
fresh  from  the  sea.  The  parr  or  smolt,  taking  the  sea 
in  a  year  or  two  from  the  fresh  water  stream  where  it  is 
hatched  out,  is  nourished  first  from  the  umbilical  sac, 
and  following  on  the  protozoa  and  ephemera,  and  is  of 
light  weight,  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  pound,  but  in  the 
sea  gains  a  number  of  pounds  the  first  year,  when  it  is 
designated  as  a  grilse.  In  two  or  three  years  more  it  is 
a  well  grown  salmon. 

At  exactly  what  age  they  take  to  the  fresh  water 
from  the  sea  for  spawning  cannot  be  positively  stated, 
but  it  may  be  assumed  that  they  do  so  after  three  years 
of  sea  life.  Perhaps  some  may  go  to  the  fresh  water  after 
two  years'  sojourn  in  the  sea,  and  some  may  wait  four 
years.  We  know  that  the  spawn  exists  in  the  young 
female  identical  with  its  growth,  as  well  as  developed 
faculties  in  the  male  grilse.  The  ova,  however,  remains, 
one  might  say,  dormant,  incidental  with  growth  of  the 
female,  but  after  two,  three,  or  four  years'  life  in  the 
sea,  as  the  case  may  be,  visibly  develops,  but  does  not 
reach  the  voiding  condition  until  stimulated  by  the  ad- 
vent of  the  fish  into  fresh  water.  Fresh  water  is  a  neces- 
sitated element  to  anadromous  fishes,  and  when  the 
ova  of  such  have  reached  a  comparatively  matured 
condition,  the  impulse  of  nature  directs  them  to  the 
spawning  grounds. 


340  Reminiscences  of 

The  sea  fishing  exhibits  many  characteristics  of  the 
saknon  which  cannot  be  observed  elsewhere,  and  are 
entirely  new  features  in  the  life  and  habits  of  this  king 
of  the  streams,  where  but  one  side  of  its  dual  life  has 
illustrated  so  many  volumes.  No  accounts  of  accuracy 
have  been  given  of  its  important  life  in  the  sea,  until 
gained  by  viewing  that  real  life  as  shown  upon  the 
California  coast,  where  the  salmon  is  observed  in  its 
normal  condition  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  its  food  of 
nourishment. 

In  the  sea  its  life  is  one  of  progress,  and  in  the 
fresh  water,  excepting  at  its  commencement,  one  of 
retrogression  and  extinction.  With  its  birth  and  first 
delicate  life  in  the  stream  we  are  familiar,  and  with 
its  swift  advancement  in  the  sea,  and  with  its  more 
rapid  decline  upon  its  retiim  to  that  element  which 
was  so  invigorating  in  early  days.  If  there  could 
be  another  chapter  it  would  be  that  of  its  survival 
from  the  mountain  stream  after  the  spawning  season 
in  its  return  to  the  briny  waves,  such  return,  by  a 
singular  fatality,  deadly  in  effect,  but  of  this  we  have 
no  history. 

In  the  fresh-water  pools,  where  the  salmon  rises 
to  the  angler's  fiy,  it  is  made  in  a  comparatively 
moderate  way,  and  if  missed,  the  salmon  returns  to 
its  before-occupied  place,  where  it  must  have  a  rest 
before  engaging  a  following  strike,  and  if  followed 
up  too  quickly  and  eagerly,  may  entirely  give  up 
further  attention;  but  if  allowed  to  compose  itself 
for  a  few  minutes,  may  again  rise  and  essay  the 
gaudy  deceit.  Not  so  with  the  salmon  in  the  sea, 
who  is  bold  and  aggressive,  free  in  the  boundless 
water,   eager  and  fearless.     Even  if  pricked  by  the 


A  Sportsman  341 

hook's  failing  to  fasten,  he  will  again  engage,  and 
having  secured  but  a  portion  of  the  vanishing  bait 
will  seize  the  remainder — if  but  a  mere  shred — and 
in  his  voraciousness  become  impaled;  and  I  have 
several  times  taken  a  salmon  which,  taking  in  his 
first  strike  a  portion  of  the  bait,  and  hooked  with  a 
slight  hold,  has  again  struck  the  remnant  of  bait 
and,  well  hooked,  been  brought  to  gaff,  which  exhib- 
ited the  wound  from  the  first  strike. 

On  one  occasion  I  caught  a  large  salmon  of  some 
twenty-five  pounds,  which  struck  fiercely  and  fought 
hard,  but  was  in  a  very  bad  condition  from  two  wounds 
gained  in  an  encovmter  with  one  of  the  market  fisher- 
men, but  otherwise  in  good  condition  of  flesh.  The 
wounds  told  the  story.  It  had  one  side  of  its  jaw 
and  mouth  cut  badly  by  a  torn-out  hook,  and  a  severe 
cut  between  its  ventral  and  anal  fins  of  three  inches 
in  length  and  equal  in  width — where  a  gaff  had  torn 
out.  The  gaff  had  penetrated  nearly  through  the 
salmon.  It  was  evident  that  he  had  been  well  hooked 
and  gaffed,  but  brought  in  speedily  by  the  fisherman 
with  his  hea^y  line  and  hook  while  still  full  of  life.  In 
the  clumsy  and  hasty  work  of  the  fisherman,  one  of 
the  holes  had  torn  out  and  afterwards  the  other,  and 
the  salmon  went  free,  to  finally  fall  a  victim  to  my  hook 
and  gaff.  It  seemed  hardly  likely  that  this  salmon 
could  have  survived  the  belly  wound,  yet  he  had  not 
indicated  any  failing  courage  in  striking  my  bait,  or  in 
his  play. 

I  am  reminded  of  a  shark  I  once  hooked  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  with  a  junk  of  salt  pork  and  a  chain 
hook — from  the  ship  Western  Star,  long  years  ago — 
when  I  was  a  passenger  on  the  ship  on  a  passage 


342  Reminiscences  of 

from  New  Orleans  to  Boston.  We  were  becalmed, 
and  a  large  shark  made  himself  at  home  swimming 
slowly  about  the  ship,  which  excited  a  strong  desire 
in  my  mind  for  his  capture,  and  I  got  out  the  hook 
rig  which  the  ship  had,  fastened  to  a  long  rope.  I  soon 
had  the  shark  on,  and  set  the  large  shark  hook  well 
into  his  jaw.  He  was  altogether  too  large  for  hoist- 
ing aboard,  as  his  weight  would  svirely  tear  out  the 
hook.  He  would,  after  being  hooked,  swim  under 
and  about  the  ship,  but  did  not  exhibit  any  remark- 
able ferocity  or  fighting  qualities,  and  would  submit, 
with  the  aid  of  several  of  the  crew,  to  being  hauled 
up  along-side  the  ship,  but  that  was  all  that  could 
possibly  be  accomplished  with  him.  The  captain — 
friendly  disposed — got  out  his  long  shark  and  por- 
poise harpoon,  which  had  a  long  iron  shank  of  eight 
or  nine  feet  in  length.  To  the  end  of  the  harpoon 
a  stout  rope  was  attached.  I  can  see  Captain  Homer 
in  full  remembrance  now — after  the  many  years 
which  have  elapsed— standing  on  the  bulwark  of 
the  ship's  side  as  he  cast  the  harpoon  deep  into  the 
shark,  which  had  quieted  down  considerably,  and 
lay  supinely  along-side.  The  penetration  of  the  har- 
poon, complete  as  it  was,  seemed  to  affect  the  coarse 
sensibilities  of  the  shark,  and  he  gave  such  a  wrench- 
ing roll-over  of  his  body,  the  captain  meantime  hold- 
ing on  the  extended  wooden  handle  of  the  harpoon  iron, 
to  which  a  rope  was  attached,  it  bent  over  the  iron 
part,  so  that  it  became  a  gigantic  hook,  as  it  were, 
of  the  harpoon  through  the  shark's  body.  The 
shark  then  made  a  run,  but,  with  half  a  dozen  men 
holding  both  the  hook  and  harpoon  ropes,  he  was 
soon   brought  along-side.     A  sure  prize  he  was,  and 


A  Sportsman  343 

small  insurance  money  would  have  been  paid  out 
to  guarantee  his  gracing  the  ship's  deck. 

The  ropes  were  run  over  blocks,  andthe  hoistiiig 
commenced  on  both  ropes.  The  weight  was  so  ex- 
cessive, with  over  a  dozen  of  the  crew  on  the  hauls, 
that  the  captain  thought  it  expedient  to  make  a  sure 
thing  of  it  by  bending  a  noose  around  the  shark's 
tail.  This  was  done,  and  over  the  three  blocks 
the  sailors  pulled  merrily  on  the  ropes.  The  shark 
had  almost  reached  the  height  of  the  bulwarks  when 
it  was  observed  that  the  hook,  hauling  too  heavily 
upon  the  shark's  mouth,  was  tearing  out.  It  did. 
The  additional  strain  upon  the  great  harpoon  hook 
began  to  straighten  it  out,  and  finally  it  came  out 
entirely.  Fortunately,  we  had  the  noose  rope  on 
the  tail.  Fortunate,  indeed;  when  horrors  !  that 
began  to  slip;  and,  a  shark's  tail  not  being  of  that 
cross-cut  variety  which  the  tunas  and  the  blackfish 
have,  slowly  oozed  through  the  noose,  and  our  shark 
made  a  header  into  the  green  sea,  from  which  he 
never    appeared    to    our    view    again. 

floral:  Don't  count  yoiu:  fish  until  they  are 
strung  or  creeled;  and  then  you  may  not  be  sure  of 
them,  as  a  visiting  chap  at  the  Rangeleys  last  year 
found  when  returning  from  a  brook  at  twilight  with 
a  creel  full  of  fish.  Passing  through  a  path  in  the 
woods,  he  heard  a  noise  behind  him,  and  saw  a  huge 
bear  rising  up  on  his  hind  feet.  Suspecting  the 
cause,  he  hastily  threw  down  his  basket,  and  legged 
with  good  speed  away,  finding  the  next  morning 
only  his  tom-up  empty  basket  and  nothing  else. 

Among  all  the  salmon  I  caught  off  Monterey,  I 
never  saw  one  that  appeared  in  thin  fiesh:  all  plump 


344  Reminiscences  of 

and  full,  indicating  that  the  sources  of  food  supply 
are  most  plentiful.  As  the  variovis  fishes  which  they 
prey  upon,  the  anchovies  and  sardines,  are  not  deep- 
water  fish,  or  the  squid,  it  is  pretty  clear  that  the 
salmon  do  not  go  very  many  miles  from  the  shore, 
probably  not  more  than  a  hundred,  or  that  they 
frequent  a  depth  greater  than  fifty  or  sixty  fathoms. 
There  are  instances  where  they  have  been  caught  at 
sea  at  a  depth  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  fathoms  by 
baited  hooks,  at  different  places  up  and  down  the 
middle  and  northern  coast  of  California,  but  not  at 
a  greater  depth  than  mentioned. 

It  is  not  likely  that  the  king  salmon,  or  chinook, 
those  of  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  rivers, 
ever  go  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  they  are  never  seen  more 
than  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles  south  of  the  bay. 
Although  identical  with  the  chinook  of  the  Columbia 
River,  seven  hundred  miles  north,  they  are  distinctive 
in  weight,  those  of  the  Columbia  River  averaging 
four  pounds  heavier  in  weight  at  the  canning  works 
over  those  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers. 

How  the  salmon  find  their  way  to  the  several  par- 
ticular streams  where  they  were  hatched  out,  and 
which  they  occupied  in  their  juvenile  days,  I  will 
explain  in  some  later  references  to  fishes  and  their 
ability  to  find  their  way  through  the  sea,  and  this 
through  the  confusion  of  the  waters  of  the  bays, 
too   extended  to  consider  at  this  moment. 

The  salmon  in  the  sea  appears  to  be  quite  fearless 
and  indifferent  about  boats  and  fishermen,  probably 
never  having  seen  any  before,  and  if  considered  at  all, 
would  probably  suppose  them  to  be  some  sort  of  fish. 


A  Sportsman  345 

and  moderately  avoid  them  on  that  account.  They 
often  pass  by  the  boat  not  far  from  the  surface,  and 
occasionally  follow  up  a  hooked  salmon  near  the  boat 
as  trout  and  bass  will,  though  not  frequently,  and  I 
have  occasionally  observed  four  or  five  salmon  fol- 
lowing up  my  shred  of  a  bait  when  reeling  in  to  replen- 
ish. When  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  from  the  boat 
they  would  turn  of?  in  disappointment,  which  I  would 
endeavor  to  relieve  as  much  as  possible  by  speedily 
throwing  out  a  fresh  bait.  A  rather  exciting  moment 
for  a  fisherman. 

I  have  examined  the  stomachs  of  a  great  many 
of  these  salmon,  not  only  of  my  own  catch,  but  at  the 
salting  works  at  the  Monterey  pier,  California,  and 
have  very  seldom  found  any  empty.  The  predomi- 
nating food  I  have  found  more  of  squid  than  any- 
thing else;  next  anchovies  and  sardines.  These  ap- 
pear to  be  the  principal  food  at  the  bay  when  the 
waters  are  full  of  them.  I  found  also  varieties  of 
small  fishes,  smelts,  cods,  blue-fish,  flounders  and 
others.  Occasionally  I  have  found  the  stomachs 
packed  with  shrimps,  which  swimming  in  clouds 
could  easily  be  scooped   in. 

The  stomach  of  the  salmon  does  not  have  the  dis- 
tention apparent  with  other  members  of  the  Sal- 
monidce  family,  not  exhibiting  the  swollen  aspect 
seen  often  in  trout,  which,  gorging  to  the  limit,  will 
still  take  the  minnow  when  only  a  portion  of  it  can 
enter  the  stomach,  and  with  the  tail  part  protruding 
from  the  throat  will  often  as  eagerly  strike  at  the 
fly  as  if  half  famished. 

It  is  clear  that  the  salmon  at  home  in  the  salt  water 
is  an   indiscriminate   feeder   upon  any  kind  of  small 


346  Reminiscences  of 

fishes  which  come  in  its  way,  and  will  strike  at  any 
moving  object  not  too  large  for  swallowing  whole. 
Although  I  caught  some  salmon  with  a  spoon,  I  did 
not  find  this  offering  taken  as  readil}^  as  fresh  bait, 
and  a  large  fly  would  be  readily  taken  if  trolled  at 
a  depth. 

The  salmon  come  in  at  Monterey  usually  in  the 
first  part  of  June,  and  almost  wholly  disappear  by 
September,  though  an  occasional  salmon  may  be 
picked  up  out  of  season. 

In  a  dead  calm,  or  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  the 
salmon  strikes  will  almost  cease,  and  the  favorite 
hours  for  success  are  from  the  break  of  day  to  nine 
o'clock,  during  which  hours  I  did  most  of  my  fishing. 
One  cannot  be  too  early  for  them.  The  mornings 
during  the  season  are  almost  always  calm  and 
breezeless,  and  generally  foggy,  often  so  much  so 
that  one  going  out  from  the  Monterey  pier  may 
have  no  index  of  his  course  but  the  mellow  sound 
of  the  buoy  bell,  two  miles  out,  which  at  inter\-als 
strikes  from  the  rising  and  falling  of  the  ground 
swell.  This  bell  I  have  been  guided  by,  and  have 
listened  to  so  often  that,  for  a  long  time  after  my 
fishing  experiences  at  the  bay,  I  have  imagined  I 
could  hear  its  distant  soft  and  weird  sound  in  the 
stillness  of  the  night,  when  many  miles  away.  About 
this  buoy  was  a  favorite  reach  for  the  salmon.  About 
eight  o'clock  the  fog,  however  dense,  would  generally 
drift  away  landward  from  the  almost  invariably 
westerly  breeze,  which  would  give  good  sailing  speed 
for  home.  This  breeze  would  occasionally  be  so 
stiff  as  to  kick  up  a  rough  sea,  not  pleasant  to  one 
inclined  to  sea-sickness,  a  complaint,  however,  which 


A  Sportsman  347 

I  did  not  experience,  nor  the  habituated  fishermen. 
But  even  with  a  rough  sea  the  fishing  would  hold  good. 

Many  destroyers  beside  man  are  among  the  salmon 
— the  sea-lions,  seals,  and  sharks  being  most  con- 
spicuous, with  occasional  visitations  of  porpoises,  killers, 
tvmas,    and    grampuses. 

One  morning  in  a  dense  fog  an  immense  sea-lion 
rose  up  from  the  water  just  ahead  of  my  boat  with 
a  salmon  in  its  mouth,  a  rather  appalling  sight  from 
his  close  proximity,  but  harmless,  as  they  have  never 
been  known  to  attack  men  or  boats,  although  a  fatal 
incident  occurred  in  the  bay  the  year  before  my  fish- 
ing, when  a  large  sea-lion  became  entangled  in  a 
fishing  net — not  an  imcommon  event — and,  while 
being  struck  at  by  one  of  the  netters  at  close  quarters, 
seized  him  by  the  thigh,  and  carried  him  down,  with 
fatal  result.  The  seals  are  plentiful  and  will  occa- 
sionally cut  off  the  salmon  while  it  is  being  hauled  in. 

The  fishermen  dispose  of  their  fish  almost  wholly 
for  moderate  prices  at  the  Monterey  pier,  where 
salting  works  are  established,  receiving  for  their 
salmon  from  three  to  five  cents  per  pound.  Their 
other  varieties  of  marketable  fishes  are  handled  also 
by  the  salters,  who  pack  and  forward  to  dealers  at 
the  various  markets. 

It  is  observable  that  the  schools  of  salmon  are 
comparatively  uniform  in  weights,  in  one  locality 
running  from  twelve  to  twenty  pounds,  and  in  an- 
other from  twenty  pounds  up ;  and  off  the  coast  at 
Santa  Cruz,  twenty  miles  north  of  Monterey  Bay, 
they  run  lighter  than  at  the  latter  locality,  where 
grilse   are   much   more   plentifvd. 

It  is  a  feature  apparent  at  Monterey  Bay  that  the 


348  Reminiscences  of 

male  salmon  largely  exceed  the  female,  the  latter 
but  little  exceeding  one  quarter  of  the  whole.  This 
is  rather  singular,  considering  that  at  the  canning 
works   the   sexes   are   about   equal. 

I  heard  accounts  of  large  salmon  at  Carmelo 
Bay,  twenty  miles  south  of  Monterey,  a  place  not 
much  frequented,  being  without  boats  and  conven- 
ient railroad  facilities  for  shipping,  and  therefore 
not  desirable  with  the  fishermen,  on  account  of 
its  distance  away.  At  this  bay  is  the  outlet  of 
the  Carmelo  River,  a  mountain  stream  which  I 
have  before  mentioned  as  a  resort  for  the  steel-head 
trout,  so  plentiful  at  certain  seasons.  But  one  from 
the  bay  view  would  hardly  suspect  the  existence 
of  the  river  beyond  the  half-mile  of  beach  through 
which  it  cuts  its  way  in  large  volume  during  the 
annual  winter  rains,  but  now  in  the  salmon  season 
the  mouth  is  effectually  sealed  up  by  the  banked- 
up  sand,  through  which  but  a  moderate  amount 
of  water  slowly  seeps.  The  bay  is  small,  being  about 
two  miles  in  width,  while  the  water  is  very  clear  and 
deep.  The  region  is  quite  deserted  excepting  for 
a  very  few  Chinese  huts  and  adobes.  Prominent, 
however,  is  the  old  Carmelo  church  some  dis- 
tance inland,  built  many  years  ago  by  the  Jesuit 
padres  but  fairly  well  preserved,  where  sennces 
are  occasionally  held  for  the  benefit  of  the  few 
remaining  inhabitants,  representing  a  mixture  of 
Mexicans  and  Indians  scattered  about  the  re- 
gion. 

I  had  my  boat  and  two  men  go  down  there  in  ad- 
vance, and  by  rising  at  the  early  hour  of  three  o'clock 
at  the  Del  Monte  hotel  could   drive  down  there  in 


A  Sportsman  349 

season  to  get  the  early  fishing,  where  I  had  several 
days  of  notable  success. 

Few  bays  could  be  more  beautiful  and  romantic 
than  Carmelo — resting  between  two  bold  rocky  prom- 
ontories, on  one  of  which,  back  from  the  shore, 
are  groups  of  a  very  rare  tree,  the  true  cedars  of 
Lebanon,  not  fovmd,  I  believe,  elsewhere  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent.  These  cedars  throw  out  their  branches 
in  a  most  curious  and  grotesque  manner,  and  would 
instantly  attract  the  notice  of  a  passing  totu-ist  by 
their  remarkable  appearance,  so  different  from  any- 
thing seen  before.  When  I  passed  them  in  the  star- 
light hour — as  I  did  several  times  in  early  morning 
or  late  evening — I  never  failed  to  be  strongly  im- 
pressed by  their  weird  and  fantastic  shapes. 

I  had  an  experience  at  Carmelo  one  day  with  the 
salmon  which  I  doubt  if  any  other  mortal  ever  wit- 
nessed the  equal  of.  It  was  not  yet  light  after  my 
drive  from  the  Del  Monte  when  I  passed  from  the 
remnant  of  an  old  wharf  among  the  rocks  on 
the  south  shore  of  the  bay  to  my  waiting  boat.  The 
morning  was  fogless,  with  a  light  breeze  from  the 
west.  A  few  pulls  brought  the  boat  over  an  im- 
mense school  of  anchovies  near  the  surface,  with  which 
our  jig  of  a  short  rod  and  ten  feet  of  line,  set  with 
a  leaden  sinker  on  the  end  and  half  a  dozen  bare 
hooks,  soon  filled  ovir  bait  bucket.  This  method  is 
followed  for  obtaining  bait,  by  dropping  down  the 
line  and  pulling  it  up  quickly,  when  bushels  of  an- 
chovies and  sardines  can  be  obtained  if  over  a  swarm- 
ing school,  as  plentifully  found  in  the  bay  waters 
during  the  season. 

The  long,  heaving  green  waves  from  the  Asiatic 


35°  Reminiscences  of 

coast  were  about  to  feel  their  first  check  on  the 
CaUfomia  shore,  and  among  those  moderate  swells 
were  thousands  of  salmon  full  of  lusty  strength,  and 
silver-glistening,  gliding  amid  this  immense  mass  of 
anchovies,  which  scattering  and  demoralized  vainly 
sought  escape.  As  it  grew  lighter  the  salmon  could 
be  seen  in  rapid  motion  near  the  boat,  and  many 
breaks  and  whirls  were  observable  near  the  svirface. 
The  birds  were  already  there  to  seize  the  distracted 
anchovies  when  within  reach,  shrieking  with  dis- 
cordant gabbling  notes  their  exultation,  the  only 
sounds  which  broke  the  quiet  of  the  morning. 

The  water  was  clear  and  attractive  in  its  bluish- 
green  hue.  Down  many  feet  could  be  seen  the  sil- 
very anchovies  in  restless  motion,  easily  followed 
by  their  flashing  brightness.  Among  them  were  the 
salmon,  seeming  at  play,  but  as  wanton  as  that  of 
the  tiger  with  its  victim.  Blue  flashing  streaks  oc- 
casionally passed  near  the  boat.  These  were  the 
salmon  in  passage,  and  now  and  then  one  would 
break  fairly  out  of  the  water,  but  not  with  the  play- 
ful leap  as  seen  in  fresh- water  pools,  but  breaking 
from  one  wave  to  another  in  headlong  ptirsuing 
flight.  This  scene  continued  directly  about  me  for 
an  hour,  and  my  men  and  I  were  the  only  wit- 
nesses, on  the  placid  waters  of  this  beautiful  bay,  of 
this  interesting  scene  which  many  salmon  fishermen 
would  have  given  so  much  to  see. 

Once  a  sahnon  came  up  head-on,  vertically,  sev- 
eral feet  out  of  the  water,  close  to  the  boat,  so  near 
that  it  seemed  as  if  it  would  come  in.  It  was  a  bold 
and  vigorous  rush  from  below,  undoubtedly  for  an 
anchovy   above   him.     It   was   an   exciting   moment, 


A  Sportsman  351 

for  I  had  a  large  salmon  on  my  line,  which  was  wild 
with  fright  and  frantic  struggles.  As  I  brought  my 
salmon  to  gaff,  my  lead  sinker  on  its  short  piece 
of  line,  some  thirty  feet  above  my  hook  (as  I  had 
not  then  adopted  the  improved  method  of  connect- 
ing it  near  the  bait),  was  seized  within  six  feet  of 
the  boat  by  another  salmon,  and  torn  away.  I  saw 
distinctly  in  the  clear  water  as  I  was  reeling  in  my 
hooked  salmon,  the  rush  of  this  second  one  and  its 
quick  strike,  and  the  tearing  away  of  my  sinker 
near  the  surface,  suspended  on  a  light  piece  of  line, 
relieved  me  from  the  necessity  of  taking  it  off,  which 
I  was  about  to  do.  I  have  had  salmon  strike  at  my 
sinker  many  times,  and  this  was  the  third  instance 
of  having  it  carried  away,  showing  the  disposition 
of  this  fish  in  its  normal  condition  to  strike  at  moving 
objects.  Losing  my  sinker  in  this  instance,  I  dis- 
pensed with  it  for  a  while  as  the  salmon  were  about 
so  plentifully,  taking  in  several  with  my  bait  near 
the    surface. 

I  could  not,  at  this  exciting  period  when  salmon 
were  so  plentiful,  but  regret  the  time  required  to 
fetch  them  in,  requiring  from  ten  to  twenty  minutes 
for  each.  So  I  had  to  stop  playing  my  fish,  while 
the  great  body  of  anchovies  moved  on  toward  the 
beach  shore  of  the  bay,  driven  on  by  their  relent- 
less pursuers,  followed  by  the  circling  clouds  of  shags, 
muirs  and  gulls,  and  less  rapidly  by  my  boat  im- 
peded by  the  necessity  of  fighting  hooked  salmon. 
But  we  followed  on,  finally  into  the  jaws  of  the  ground 
swell,  where  for  half  a  mile  in  length  on  the  sandy 
beach  the  salmon  held  the  anchovies  for  at  least 
two    hours.     Back,    probably,    from    the    advancing 


352  Reminiscences  of 

school  of  pursuers,  were  other  contingents  of  break- 
fasting salmon  taking  the  places  of  those  which  had 
made  their  fiU,  and  no  cessation  of  quick  striking  oc- 
curred until  the  sun  was  an  hour  high. 

Many  of  the  anchovies  in  their  fright  were  driven 
up  upon  the  sandy  beach,  where  a  long  line  was 
visible  of  flopping  fish,  of  which,  however,  the  most 
managed  to  regain  their  native  element.  At  eleven 
o'clock,  when  I  ceased  fishing  for  the  time — as  the 
salmon  had  retired  to  deeper  water — I  had  seventeen 
in  my  boat. 

In  the  afternoon  I  renewed  my  fishing,  securing 
twelve  more,  making  a  total  of  twenty-nine  salmon 
which  gave  a  total  weight  of  over  five  hundred  pounds. 
My  largest  fish  of  the  day  weighed  thirty-three  pounds, 
and  my  smallest  thirteen.  I  was  satisfied,  and  had 
my  glut  of  salmon,  a  carnival  of  fishing  I  was  sure 
I   would  not   soon   see   again. 

While  my  result  of  the  day  was  large,  I  lost  more 
than  ever  before  in  proportion  to  my  catch,  owing 
to  careless  handling  arising  from  the  excitement  oc- 
casioned by  such  a  plentifulness  of  strikers.  It  was 
a  dark  record  against  my  skill.  I  lost  twelve  fish 
which  had  been  hooked  and  played  from  five  to 
fifteen  minutes.  One  large  fish,  despite  all  my  ex- 
ertions, ran  out  all  my  line  and  parted  it.  One  sal- 
mon— a  very  large  one — sprang  out  of  the  boat  and 
escaped  after  being  gaffed,  before  receiving  the  usual 
quietus  of  a  blow  on  the  head. 

I  had  a  wagon  down  from  the  Del  Monte  which 
conveyed  all  my  salmon  to  the  hotel,  and  I  passed 
the  following  day  in  forwarding  salmon  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  neighboring  points  where  I  had  friends. 


A  Sportsman  353 

Many  curious  incidents  occur  with  fishermen  which 
seem  almost  incredible,  some  of  which  are  so  singular 
as  to  create  a  smile  of  incredulity  upon  the  relating. 
I  have  had  many  such,  but  one  occurred  of  an  amusing 
character  while  I  was  salmon  fishing  accompanied 
by  a  friend,  who  after  I  had  taken  in  a  few  salmon, 
and  had  a  following  stripping  of  bait  occur,  and  no 
fish,  bantered  me  as  I  put  on  a  fresh  bait  to  wager 
that  I  would  take  in  a  fish  on  the  following  cast. 
I  said  I  would  take  it  for  a  box  of  cigars,  that  I  would 
take  in  a  fish  of  some  kind,  not  confining  myself  to 
salmon,  on  that  trial.  I  had  a  good  strike  but  failed 
to  hook  my  fish,  and  I  knew  by  the  way  my  line  eased 
up  that  I  had  lost  my  bait;  so  I  slowly  reeled  in,  trust- 
ing that  possibly  some  mere  shred  of  bait  remaining 
might  lure  on  some  straggling  wanderer.  But  as  the 
end  of  my  line  appeared,  and  the  hook  looked  bare,  my 
friend  Sprague  gleefully  claimed  the  bet.  But  as  I 
lifted  it  in  over  the  side  of  the  boat  I  observed  some- 
thing of  slight  form  attached  to  the  hook,  and  upon  our 
close  examination  it  was  seen  that  I  had  won  the  bet, 
for  hanging  upon  it  was  a  minute  codfish  of  not  more 
than  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  which  was  hooked 
squarely  in  the  mouth,  the  point  of  the  large  hook 
coming  out  through  its  gills.  In  reeling  in  my  line 
and  bare  hook,  this  minute  specimen  had  probably 
been  swimming  along  in  an  opposite  direction,  and 
the  point  of  my  hook  had  struck  it  squarely  in  its 
little  mouth,  securing  for  me  my  wager.  I  have  the 
little  chap  now  in  alcohol  in  a  small  bottle,  as  a  me- 
mento  of   this   occasion. 

It  may  be  claimed,  by  those  fishermen  who  are 
so  wedded  to  the  artificial  fly,  that  trolling  with  a 

»3 


354  Reminiscences  of 

spinning  anchovy  or  sardine  is  not  the  proper  lure 
for  the  king  of  fish,  but  it  may  be  a  question  if  such 
a  view  is  not  of  the  fanciful  and  fantastic  order,  rather 
than  the  resulting  conclusions  of  the  experienced 
all-around  fisherman,  who,  disdaining  an  unfair  ad- 
vantage over  his  game,  does  not  decline  the  accept- 
ance of  a  lure  which  may  to  an  extent,  if  stolen  away, 
compensate    for    the    risk    taken. 

As  the  autumnal  rains  commence  in  California, 
swelling  the  tributaries  and  main  streams  of  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers,  emptying  into 
the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  the  salmon  take  leave  of 
Monterey  Bay  and  its  vicinity,  but  they  are  usually  suc- 
ceeded by  new  schools  from  the  outer  sea,  which  in 
turn  depart,  and  are  followed  by  more,  until  well 
into  September,  although  an  occasional  salmon  may 
be  picked  up  about  Monterey  during  every  month 
of  the  year. 

I  have  before  mentioned  that  these  salmon,  as 
seined  at  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  rivers, 
are  well  proved  to  be  those^of  Monterey,  as  their 
average  size  is  similar,  and  distinctive  from  those  of 
the  Colvunbia  River  in  Oregon,  several  hundred  miles 
north  of  San  Francisco,  where  the  salmon  average 
several  pounds  heavier. 

Their  arrival  at  the  river  seining  nets  is  timed  at 
three  days  after  their  departure,  as  I  have  observed 
by  the  news  from  the  river  canning  works,  showing 
that  they  leisurely  make  the  distance  at  the  rate  of 
thirty  miles  a  day,  or  rather  each  night,  as  the  latter 
is  the  time  of  their  journeying.  It  is  observed  that 
when  the  movement  takes  place,  from  a  reach  of 
twenty   or   thirty   miles    in   extent   along   the   coast, 


A  Sportsman  355 

all  go,  excepting  a  few  stragglers,  showing  a  con- 
certed action.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco  a  large  number  of  grilse  are 
found,  which  remain  the  larger  part  of  the  year, 
and  are  freely  caught  in  particular  localities  with 
shrimp  bait,  and  no  other  locality  is  known  where 
grilse  can  be  caught  in  a  similar  way. 

The  distance  from  the  landing  at  Carmelo  Bay  to 
the  pier  at  Monterey  is  twenty-five  miles.  I  con- 
cluded, after  completing  my  fishing  at  Carmelo,  that 
I  wovild  take  the  passage  in  my  boat  from  there  on 
its  return,  that  I  might  try  the  salmon  fishing  on 
the  way  in  deep  water  upon  the  exposed  ocean  coast. 
I  had  a  rather  exciting  adventure. 

I  drove  down  in  the  early  morning  from  the  Del 
Monte,  and  the  day  was  very  promising  for  a  fair 
breeze  to  sail  up  with,  from  the  west.  We  started 
along  favorably  and  I  found  the  salmon,  as  I  ex- 
pected, in  the  outside  waters,  taking  in  several  at 
the  commencement.  The  breeze  freshened  up  a  good 
deal,  giving  us  all  otir  sail  and  boat  could  carry, 
with  the  sea  continually  rising;  and  we,  sailing  along 
in  its  trough,  had  to  turn  west  repeatedly  from 
our  northerly  course  to  avoid  the  combing  waves 
which  threatened  to  swamp  us.  We,  however,  kept 
on,  though  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  returned 
to  Carmelo,  for  the  tide  was  setting  in  toward  the 
rocky  shore,   where  no  harbor  of  refuge  existed. 

The  breeze  continually  freshened,  most  unusual 
for  the  season,  -and  finally  increased  beyond  the 
capacity  of  our  sail,  reefed  as  we  had  it,  to  with- 
stand, and  we  had  to  take  it  in,  and  depend  upon  our 
oars  for  getting  on.     So  we  pulled  on  for  hours  in 


356  Reminiscences  of 

our  heavy  boat  with  the  waves  increasing  in  magni- 
tude, compelhng  us  to  swing  around  head-on  west 
every  time  a  top  wave  would  reach  us,  to  keep  out 
the  water.  As  it  was,  we  were  soon  drenched,  and 
bucket  baihng  was  necessitated. 

When  we  reached  half  way,  we  had  our  worst  call 
off  the  string  of  seal  rocks  and  resorts  of  sea-lions, 
which  give  such  picturesque  effect  to  the  seventeen- 
mile  beach  drive  of  the  Del  Monte.  It  seemed  as  if 
the  strong  inflowing  tide  and  the  gale  would  set  us 
into  this  foaming  region.  Despite  the  threatening 
conditions  it  was  a  beautiful  sight,  on  this  day  of 
sunny  brightness,  with  the  transparency  and  various 
hues  given  to  the  oncoming  green  waves  which  rode 
in  majestic  order,  with  graceful  crests.  Upon  the 
other  side  were  the  spouting  rocks,  and  the  foaming 
washes  of  the  broken  waves.  It  was  a  case  of  being 
between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea. 

Here  my  most  aged  boatman,  worn  out  with 
strenuous  labor,  suddenly  pulled  in  his  oar,  and 
swore  he  would  not  pull  another  stroke  to  save  his 
life,  naming  two  of  his  former  associates  who  had 
lost  their  lives  on  a  similar  occasion  upon  the  seal 
rocks.  I  quit  my  bailing  for  him,  and  took  the  oar. 
We  mastered  Point  Lobos,  but  did  not  dock  our  boat 
at  the  Monterey  pier  until  eleven  o'clock  at  night, 
having  been  fifteen  hours  in  passage. 


IT  was  my  fortune  to  visit  the  Territory  of  New  Mex- 
ico a  number  of  times,  such  visits  extending 
over  a  period  of  twenty-five  years.  My  first  visit 
was  during  the  building  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and 
Santa  F6  railroad,  when  the  conditions  of  the  Terri- 


A  Sportsman  357 

tory  were  much  unsettled,  and  when  no  other  section 
of  the  country  could  have  equalled  it  in  lawlessness 
and  rough  life.  In  relating  the  experiences  I  had 
there,  which  were  fraught  with  so  many  unpleasant 
incidents,  which  I  do  not  look  back  upon  with  par- 
ticular satisfaction,  I  have  some  doubt  if  my  readers 
may  not  look  at  them  with  some  degree  of  incredulity, 
and  especially  with  wonderment  that  I  should  have 
submitted  myself  to  such  experiences.  But  we  do  not 
know  what  may  befall  us  in  our  movements,  and  once 
engaged  we  are  usually  necessitated  to  keep  on,  and 
my  recitations  will  be  of  simple  facts  as  they  occurred. 

The  i\.tchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  F6  railroad  was 
then  building  rapidly  along  the  Rio  Grande,  having 
been  diverted  from  its  proposed  direction  at  the  town 
of  Pueblo,  in  Colorado,  by  the  opposition  of  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande  railroad,  which  claimed  the  right 
of  way  up  the  Arkansas  River  into  the  mining  regions 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  route  was  through 
a  narrow  gorge,  where  only  space  existed  for  many 
miles  for  one  railroad,  and  the  dispute  which  occurred 
led  to  an  array  of  armed  forces  of  several  thousand 
men,  which  threatened  the  peace  of  the  whole  Terri- 
tor}',  and  was  finally  settled  in  favor  of  the  Denver  and 
Rio  Grande  railroad  by  its  payment  in  compromise 
to  the  Santa  F6  railroad  of  about  a  million  dollars. 

Upon  this  settlement,  the  latter  road,  being  com- 
pelled to  go  somewhere  from  the  weight  of  its  mo- 
mentum arising  from  the  capital  pledged  and  the 
eager  spirit  of  building  which  then  prevailed,  pursued 
its  course  from  La  Junta,  east  of  Pueblo,  near  the 
New  Mexico  line,  into  that  Territory,  which,  seemingly, 
was  about  as  sterile  and  unpromising  a  region  as  could 


358  Reminiscences  of 

be  presented,  especially  in  contrast  with  the  fertile 
and  promising  State  of  Kansas,  which  the  road  had 
passed  through. 

The  Territory  of  New  Mexico  is  bordered  on  the 
south  by  the  republic  of  Mexico,  and  on  the  north  by 
Colorado,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Territory  of  Ari- 
zona, and  is  larger  than  all  the  New  England  States 
with  New  York  State  combined.  I  had  little  idea  on 
my  first  visit  I  should  have  so  much  to  do  with  it, 
which  occasioned  many  other  visits. 

The  Territory  presents  the  most  barren  aspect  of 
any  region  in  the  republic,  since  the  Great  Ameri- 
can Desert,  depicted  upon  the  maps  of  our  childhood 
as  extending  over  the  immense  area  from  the  Mis- 
souri River  to  California,  has  been  chased  down  in 
limits  to  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and  Nevada;  and 
the  mighty  plains  of  the  supposed  desert  between  the 
river  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  produced  last  year, 
of  com  alone,  more  than  sufficient,  if  packed  in  a 
continuous  train  of  cars,  to  reach  twice  around  the 
world. 

Excepting  about  the  Rio  Grande — which  spreads 
out  extensively  in  its  passage  through  the  centre  of 
the  Territory,  and  along  other  streams  tributaries  of 
the  Rio  Grande^ — but  few  limited  cultivable  tracts 
exist  without  irrigation.  A  large  portion  of  the 
territory  consists  of  dreary  plains  and  mountain 
ranges.  The  population  was,  and  still  is,  largely 
Mexican,  with  perhaps  one-tenth  Pueblo  Indians, 
living  in  villages  of  their  own,  and  perhaps  as  many 
Apaches,  Navajos  and  Mescallaros.  The  Territory  is 
less  pronounced  in  mineral  values  than  any  of  the 
western  mountainous  States,  but  has  a  most  healthful 


A  Sportsman  359 

climate,  and  abounds  in  many  mineral  springs  of 
undoubted  curative  qualities. 

Could  the  ancient  history  of  the  region,  now  un- 
known excepting  from  the  traces  left,  be  recorded,  it 
would  be  most  interesting,  as  probably  with  the  lower 
part  of  Colorado;  judging  from  the  ruins  of  large 
stone  community  buildings,  cave-dwellings,  towers  on 
commanding  hills,  and  extensive  irrigating  canals 
and  aqueducts,  it  was  likely  at  one  time  to  have  been 
more  densely  settled  by  the  predecessors  of  the  pres- 
ent Pueblo  Indians,  known  as  the  Anahuacs  and  Tol- 
tecs,  estimated  by  the  great  Von  Humboldt  in  his 
Systeme  du  Monde  to  have  settled  here  in  the  year 
64  8  and  to  have  flourished  in  this  region  for  several 
centuries. 

From  these  descended  the  Aztecs,  who,  in  the 
eleventh  centur}%  founded  the  City  of  Mexico  at 
Lake  Tezcuco,  as  found  by  Cortez  at  the  time  of 
the  Spanish  invasion.  This  conclusion  was  also  ar- 
rived at  by  the  early  chronicler  Abbd  Clavigero, 
from  the  established  traditions  of  Mexico  that  the 
south-flowing  immigration  into  Mexico,  and  beyond 
to  the  land  of  the  Incas,  proceeded  from  the  region 
now  known  as  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  Here  Coro- 
nado,  the  lieutenant  of  Cortez,  made  his  famous 
expediton,  in  1540,  in  search  of  the  traditional  king- 
dom and  seven  cities  of  Cibola,  where  greater  wealth 
was  expected  to  be  obtained. 

But  this  is  not  a  histor\^  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona, 
of  which  I  could  give  many  pages,  and  have  given 
elsewhere  in  publications. 

The  numerous  cave-dwellings,  difficult  of  approach, 
and  the  watch-towers,  and  numerous  ruins  of  buildings 


360  Reminiscences  of 

where  the  entrances  were  high  up,  and  only  reached 
by  ladders,  which  could  be  withdrawn,  all  indicate 
that  these  were  periods  in  the  history  of  this  Toltec 
and  Anahuac  habitation  when  human  life  was  in 
great  peril  from  warlike  tribes,  and  show  that 
in  the  two  centuries  preceding  white  occupation 
a  very  considerable  extermination  had  occurred; 
and  even  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  accounts 
of  massacres  and  spoliation  were  of  an  extremity 
to  which  those  of  the  early  settlers  of  New  England 
from  the  Indians  were  of  light  circumstance  in  com- 
parison. 

I  have  had  occasion  to  search  the  church  records 
in  New  Mexico  by  employed  assistants  to  a  large 
extent  for  tracing  genealogical  descents,  to  ascertain 
existing  and  unknown  interests.  After  the  Spanish 
occupation,  large  tracts  of  land  were  awarded  by  the 
kingdom  of  Spain  to  Spaniards  as  an  inducement 
for  their  settlement  in  the  new  regions  acquired, 
which  were  largely  availed  of.  These  settlers  had 
no  difficulty  in  dominating  the  Pueblo  natives  of 
New  Mexico,  who  were  industrious  and  hospitable 
and  non-warring,  as  of  to-day,  and  united  with  them 
in  mutual  defence  against  the  warlike  tribes  who, 
from  prehistoric  times,  committed  great  ravages. 
Under  the  customs  of  the  Catholic  faith  in  New  Mex- 
ico, most  particular  records  since  1700  have  been 
made  in  the  church  archives,  of  births,  deaths  and 
marriages,  and  the  details  of  such  in  many  instances 
are  given  with  extended  references,  faithfully  tran- 
scribed by  the  official  recorders,  so  that  a  remarkably 
accurate  recitation  occurs  of  families,  of  deaths  and 
names  of  relatives,  and  causes  of  death;  and  I  have 


A  Sportsman  361 

been  struck  with  surprise  to  observe  the  large  numbers 
who  had  been  killed  by  Indians — numerous  instances 
where  whole  families  had  been  so  destroyed,  and 
all  families  seemed  to  have  suffered  in  this  respect. 
I  am  acquainted  with  a  young  man  who,  out  of  twelve 
uncles  and  aunts,  had  eleven  killed  by  Indians. 
Until  the  Apaches  were  lately  secured  upon  a  reser- 
vation, and  the  Navajos  some  time  before,  yearly 
inassacres  were  common,  but  happily  relieved  in 
recent  years. 

The  Spaniards,  ever  cruel  and  aggressive,  and 
feeUng  secure  in  their  possession,  finally  carried 
their  inhuman  treatment  of  the  Pueblos  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  rose  in  unanimous  action  on  the 
13th  of  August,  in  1680,  at  a  given  signal,  and  very 
nearly  exterminated  every  Spaniard  in  the  region, 
amounting  to  several  thousands — men,  women  and 
children.  This  was  a  most  remarkable  revolution, 
since  no  intimation  of  the  unanimous  uprising  was 
given,  excepting  that  of  two  servants  of  the  Spanish 
governor  at  Santa  F6,  two  days  before  the  uprising. 
The  governor  had  barely  time  to  concentrate  his 
small  mihtary  force  of  a  few  hundred,  when  he  was 
surrounded  by  several  thousand  natives,  by  whom  he 
was  harassed  for  several  days  at  great  peril,  and 
from  whom  he  was  compelled  to  retreat  as  a  last 
resort,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  Isleta,  some  sixty 
miles  south,  where  he  was  re-enforced  by  several 
hundred  more  Spaniards — the  only  surviving  ones 
in  the  region  who  had  escaped  massacre.  Thus  sup- 
ported he  sustained  himself  for  a  while,  when  a  fur- 
ther general  retreat  was  made  on  foot  down  the  Rio 
Grande   two   hundred   miles   to    El   Paso,    which   he 


3^2  Reminiscences  of 

succeeded  in  reaching  in  a  most  inclement  season, 
largely  diminished  in  force,  from  sviffering  and 
privations  of  exceptional  character.  Here  he  made 
a  sustained  stand,  being  re-enforced  by  a  small  force 
from  Chihuahua,  but  insufficient  to  sustain  an  ag- 
gressive  movement. 

Thus  was  New  Mexico  relieved  from  oppression, 
and  the  natives,  imitating  the  iconoclasts  of  the  Dark 
Ages,  proceeded  in  the  destruction  of  all  that  per- 
tained to  Spanish  dominion.  All  the  priests  had 
been  killed  and  all  the  Catholic  churches  and  crosses 
erected  were  levelled  to  earth.  All  the  manuscripts, 
documents  and  records  left  in  the  archives  of  Santa 
¥6  were  burned  or  cast  to  the  winds,  destroying  all 
history  of  the  Spanish  rule  for  nearly  a  hundred  years. 

The  mines,  which  had  been  worked  by  the  enslaved 
Indians  with  such  suffering,  were  covered  over  and 
obliterated  as  much  as  possible,  many  of  which  are 
still  lost. 

More  than  ten  thousand  who  had  been  compelled 
to  renounce  their  religion  for  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
had  received  the  sacrament  of  baptism  from  a  sprink- 
ling broom  of  expiation,  renounced  their  hopes  of 
salvation  under  the  cross,  and  returned  to  their  an- 
cient forms  and  superstitions. 

While  the  Spanish  governor  held  El  Paso  on  the 
Texas  line  for  a  period  of  two  or  three  years  by  re- 
enforcements  from  Mexico,  and  made  occasional 
forays  up  the  Rio  Grande,  little  material  benefit  was 
gained,  and  he  found  it  necessar}^  to  withdraw  to  the 
City  of  Mexico.  This  left  the  Pueblos  in  full  pos- 
session until  the  year  1695,  when  the  country  was 
retaken  most  effectually  under  General  Zapata,  with 


A  Sportsman  363 

a  large  force,  and  was  held  securely  iintil  1837  under 
Spanish  dominion.  At  this  period  an  insurrection 
among  the  Spaniards  occurred,  the  dissatisfied  ele- 
ment being  largely  aided  by  the  Pueblos,  and  by 
raids  from  the  Texas  Comanches,  who  massacred 
and  pillaged  alike  the  Pueblos  and  Spanairds.  Then 
the  Apaches  and  Navajos,  powerful  tribes,  inflexible 
foes  of  the  Spaniards,  were  aroused  to  action  and  com- 
mitted frightful  ravages,  and  the  Spanish  government 
trembled  in  the  scale,  but  finally  sustained  itself 
until  the  Mexican  War  of  1846,  when  General  Kearney 
made  his  memorable  march  with  his  regiment  across 
the  continent  to  California,  subjecting  New  Mexico 
and  establishing  a  provisional  government  at  Santa  F6. 

Then  came  the  cessation  of  the  Mexican  War  under 
the  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  treaty  of  1848  with  Mexico, 
and  the  acquisition  of  that  enormous  stretch  of  country 
from  above  Texas  and  the  Mexican  border  to  British 
Columbia,  from  out  of  which  so  many  States  and 
Territories  have  been  added  to  the  American  Union. 
This  seizure  of  territon^  in  its  importance  has  never 
been  equalled  in  the  records  of  historj'  as  an  aggres- 
sive exhibition  of  power  shown  by  the  United  States 
over  a  comparatively  defenceless  foe. 

Our  party  followed  the  railroad  down  to  about  the 
middle  of  the  Territory,  and  left  it  at  the  Isleta  Pueblo 
for  the  purpose  of  making  our  way  west  to  the  Zuni 
Pueblo,  a  hundred  and  twentv  miles  or  more.  Our 
party  comprised  five,  including  one  guide,  who  ac- 
companied us  with  a  pack  mule,  carrying  supplies 
and  cooking  utensils.  Mounted  and  well  armed  with 
repeating  rifles  and  side  arms  we  felt  pretty  well 
secured  for  an  advance  through  a  mountainous  and 


364  Reminiscences  of 

desert  country,  quite  unsettled,  excepting  by  a  few 
sheep-  and  cattle-men,  sparsely  distributed  in  the 
few  limited  localities  where  springs  and  feed  were 
found.  The  greater  part  of  the  region  consisted 
of  mountains  and  sandy  plains  of  barren  aspect. 

Rumors  of  troublesome  Indians  being  about  put 
us  on  our  guard,  but  such  rumors  were  more  or  less 
chronic  in  those  parts,  and  we  did  not  consider  them 
a  sufficient  deterrent,  being  more  afraid  of  the  reck- 
less white  element,  then  plentiful  enough  in  the 
country,  and  which  we  expected  soon  to  get  out  of 
reach  of.  But  we  made  a  bad  reckoning  in  respect 
of  Indians,  as  we  found  out  the  first  day. 

We  resolutely  started  out  from  the  little  settle- 
ment of  a  few  houses  at  an  early  hour,  and  fording 
the  Rio  Grande  ascended  an  elevated  plateau,  which 
we  crossed  for  seven  or  eight  miles  to  a  range  of  high 
hills,  which  extended  for  some  twenty  miles,  necessary 
to  cross  before  reaching  an  open  countr}^  where 
we  expected  to  camp  for  the  night.  There  was 
no  timber,  and  we  kept  as  much  as  possible  on  the 
ridges  and  the  open  to  avoid  a  possible  ambuscade, 
keeping  out  our  guide  in  advance,  with  his  pack 
mule  in  the  rear.  It  was  near  noon,  and  we  were 
expecting  to  halt  shortly  for  our  midday  meal  at 
a  spring  our  guide  knew  of. 

We  had  been  told  to  look  out  carefully  at  this 
spring,  for  if  there  were  any  Indians  about  they 
were  likely  to  be  in  that  vicinity.  We  saw  no  signs, 
and  held  up  near  the  spring,  which  was  at  a  little 
sloping  hillside,  and  from  which,  on  one  side,  arose 
a  somewhat  precipitous  rocky  blufif,  perhaps  two  hun- 
dred feet  high.     As   we   dismounted   I   happened   to 


A  Sportsman  365 

look  up  to  the  top  of  this  bltiff,  and  thought  I  saw  a 
flashing  gleam  of  sunlight  reflected  from  a  metallic 
substance  and  called  attention  to  it.  We  all  then  saw 
flitting  for  a  moment  the  forms  of  two  or  three  Indians 
concealing  themselves  behind  some  projecting  rocks 
at  the  top,  and  a  gleaming  rifle  barrel  apparently 
pointed  directly  at  us.  The  appearance  we  then 
exhibited  is  more  ludicrous  at  this  moment,  in  con- 
templation, than  it  was  then.  Our  horses,  mine  being 
already  picketed,  were  abandoned.  Our  guide  and 
two  others  of  the  party,  with  their  rifles,  got  behind 
the  only  three  small  trees  adjacent,  and  Captain 
Slawson,  a  mining  expert  I  had  taken  along — who 
was  afterwards  killed  by  Indians  upon  another  ex- 
ctu-sion  we  made,  further  south — more  experienced 
with  Indians  than  any  one  of  us,  excepting  our  guide, 
endeavored  to  get  behind  his  mustang,  which  par- 
took of  the  excitement  we  felt,  and  insisted  upon 
getting  on  the  wrong  side.  My  own  gun,  being  near 
my  picketed  horse,  I  had  no  time  to  regain,  and 
seeing  near  a  prospecting  mining  shaft  about  fifteen 
feet  deep,  with  a  log  down  it  with  steps  cut  for  de- 
scending, and  feeling  that  I  had  no  moments  to  spare, 
I  rushed  down  it  for  temporar}^  relief;  but  not  to 
the  bottom,  for  I  heard  an  ominous  sound  altogether 
too  familar  to  my  ears,  which  arrested  my  further 
progress,  and  looking  down  at  the  bottom  saw  what 
at  first  sight  I  thought  a  curled  ram's  horn,  but 
immediately  saw  was  an  enormous  rattlesnake  coiled 
for  action,  with  vibratory  tail.  It  is  needless  to  say 
I  stood  at  rest,  safe  for  the  moment  from  both  enemies. 
Rattlesnakes  are  very  plentiful  in  some  parts  of 
New  Mexico,   more  so  than  I  have  ever  seen  else- 


366  Reminiscences  of 

where,  and  occasion  more  or  less  loss  to  cattle,  though 
seldom  striking  men,  who  are  warned  of  their  prox- 
imity by  ominous  rattling,  and  they  have  a  habit  of  fall- 
ing into  old  mining  shafts,  and  these  will  hold  them 
from  escape  for  weeks,  until  death  finally  gives  release. 

Hearing  no  shots  I  cautiously  looked  out  of  my 
haven,  and  saw  our  party  on  guard,  and  that  no  firing 
had  occurred  from  either  side.  This  state  of  sus- 
pense continued  for  a  while  longer,  and  from  Slaw- 
son's  not  having  been  fired  at  while  getting  control 
of  his  horse  it  was  concluded  that  we  had  better 
pull  out  as  soon  as  possible  and  retrace  our  way 
to  the  Rio  Grande.  Securing  our  horses  we  aU  moimted 
and  retired  without  molestation. 

It  was  our  view  that  the  Indians  were  either  out 
of  ammunition,  or  limited  in  number,  or,  if  in  force, 
were  opposed  to  taking  the  risk  as  situated,  but  might 
attempt  to  head  us  off  elsewhere  on  our  route.  We 
therefore,  without  indulging  in  the  refreshments  we 
had  expected,  made  as  rapid  time  as  we  could  back 
again  with  due  caution,  and  felt  much  relief  when  we 
arrived  on  the  open  mesa,  where  little  risk  of  being 
ambuscaded  would  occur. 

We  found,  after  arriving  at  the  Rio  Grande  settle- 
ment, fresh  reports  of  Mescallaro  Indians,  a  branch 
of  the  Apaches,  having  been  heard  from  in  the  moun- 
tains we  were  in,  and  also  that  the  Apaches  were 
off  their  reservation  below  in  Grant  County,  and 
were  committing  many  destructive  raids.  This  con- 
vinced us  it  was  not  prudent  to  attempt  our  visit 
to  the  Zuni  reservation,  remote  from  railroad  and 
settlements  of  whites;  and  as  the  Santa  F6  railroad 
was  just  being  completed  to  Deming,  further  south. 


A  Sportsman  367 

to  meet  there  the  Southern  Pacific  from  California,  we 
concluded  to  push  on,  and  from  Deming  go  on  to  the 
west  for  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles,  where  glowing  ac- 
counts of  antelope,  deer,  wild  turkeys  and  bear,  as  well 
as  of  mineral  deposits  of  great  value,  would  be  realized. 

But  we  found  these  reports  to  be  less  than  depicted. 
There  poor  Captain  Slawson  met  his  death,  a  most 
fearless  man,  and  reckless  of  danger.  He  was  in- 
duced to  join  an  excursion  into  the  MogoUon  range 
of  mountains,  where  the  Apaches,  in  detached  parties, 
were  on  the  warpath.  The  party  was  composed  of 
four — Captain  Slawson,  J.  P.  Risque,  Jack  Magruder 
and  G.  P.  Smith — all  acquaintances  of  mine.  I  was 
invited  to  accompany  them,  but  would  not  for  a 
moment  consider  it  under  the  existing  conditions. 

Magruder,  the  only  survivor,  gave  me  an  account 
of  the  result.  The  second  day  out  from  Silver  City, 
while  passing  mounted  on  trail  through  a  ravine,  and 
while  approaching  a  group  of  small  trees  and  under- 
brush, a  remark  was  made  by  Magruder  that  it  was 
a  good  place  for  Indians  to  hide  in.  No  sooner  said 
than  Slawson,  being  in  the  lead,  answered:  "There 
are  your  Indians,  Jack,"  and  at  the  moment  they 
were  fired  upon.  All  but  Magruder  fell  mortally 
wovmded,  shot  through.  A  dozen  Apaches  rushed 
tipon  them,  firing  as  they  came.  Magruder,  being 
untouched,  had  his  horse  fall  with  him,  from  which 
he  disengaged  himself,  and  with  his  repeating  rifle 
rushed  to  the  shelter  of  an  adjoining  boulder,  being 
repeatedly  fired  at,  but  escaping  all  the  bullets.  From 
the  boulder  he  held  the  Indians  off  and  managed  to 
work  his  way  up  the  hill  among  the  rocks  behind 
him,  escaping  all  the  shots;  and,  being  a  good  shot 


368  Reminiscences  of 

himself,  and  abundantly  supplied  with  cartridges, 
either  killed  or  wounded  several  of  the  Indians,  which 
enabled  him — though  at  great  risk — to  extend  the 
distance  between  them. 

Over  an  hotu*  he  held  them  off  without  being 
wounded,  when  he  observ^ed  at  a  distance  two  of  the 
Indians  making  a  circuit  around  to  get  at  his  rear. 
He  confessed  to  feeling  that  his  hour  had  about  come, 
dark  was  approaching,  and  it  became  a  serious 
question   if   he   could  hold   out  long. 

Looking  back  in  his  retreating,  he  observed  the 
cribbing  of  a  miner's  tunnel  up  the  hill  beyond,  for 
which  he  made  a  great  rvm  and  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing it.  Upon  entering  this  tunnel  he  was  surprised 
to  see  a  dim  light  a  long  distance  in,  which  he  made 
for,  and  was  still  more  surprised  to  find  two  miners 
at  work  there,  entirely  oblivious  of  the  firing  which 
had  been  going  on.  Both  were  armed,  and  when 
acquainted  with  the  situation  put  out  their  candles 
and  awaited  the  issue,  intently  watching  the  mouth 
of  the  tunnel  for  dusky  forms.  But  none  came,  and 
in  a  silent  hour  of  the  night  the  three  men  stole  forth 
to  the  cabin  of  the  two  miners,  half  a  mile  off,  which 
they  found  undisturbed,  and  from  there  made  their 
way  to  the  nearest  settlement. 

From  Isleta  we  pushed  on  b}'  the  freshly  built 
railroad  to  Deming  nearly  to  the  south  end  of  the 
Territory,  arriving  there  at  an  early  hour.  Here,  on 
this  day  of  our  arrival,  the  important  connection  of  the 
Santa  F^  railroad  was  made  with  the  Southern  Pacific 
railroad  from  California — a  meeting  of  two  great  rail- 
roads which  for  many  months  had  been  pushing  on 
for  this  connection. 


A  Sportsman  369 

Thousands  of  workmen  had  been  employed,  and 
a  rivalry-  had  existed  for  an  advantage  of  each  rail- 
road over  the  other.  Here  a  meeting  had  occurred 
on  the  level  plains,  far  from  any  settlements  or  towns, 
at  a  spot  destined  to  be  one  of  importance;  not  only 
from  the  connection  of  the  two  railroads  now  meet- 
ing, but  from  the  junction  of  two  other  railroads 
from  the  south,  those  of  the  Galveston,  Harrisburg 
and  San  Antonio  and  the  Texas  Pacific. 

A  fifth  railroad  has  since  been  connected  at  Dem- 
ing,  built  by  the  writer  with  some  associates,  pro- 
ceeding north  to  Silver  City.  No  spot  in  the 
region  could  have  been  more  advantageously  se- 
lected, having  many  mountainous  peaks  within  a 
range  of  from  forty  to  fifty  miles,  which  seemed  in 
most  instances  to  have  been  pushed  up  from  the  level 
plains  without  the  accompaniment  of  foothills. 

Water,  so  wanting  in  New  Mexico,  is  found  here 
in  bountiful  quantity  and  good  quality,  but  a  few 
feet  beneath  the  surface,  and  the  surrounding  soil 
is    superior    for    cultivation. 

The  situation  was  a  ver>^  interesting  one  upon 
our  arrival  that  sunny  morning;  not  only  from  the 
large  number  of  men  employed,  but  from  the  im- 
portance of  the  railroad  connection,  unequalled  be- 
fore in  the  annals  of  railroad  building,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  that  of  the  Union  Pacific  and  Central 
Pacific  roads  at  Promontory  in  Utah  in  1869.  Be- 
fore we  reached  the  town  we  found  a  large  force 
engaged  in  ballasting  the  newly-laid  rails,  and  many 
teams  passing  up  and  down  the  track. 

At  the  connecting  point,  from  fifty  to  a  hundred 
tents  were  pitched,  with  a  motley  collection  of  teams, 


370  Reminiscences  of 

representing  the  caravans  which  had  been  moving  along 
with  the  building  roads,  now  meeting  at  a  given  centre, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  that  of  the  new  town. 

Many  of  those  teams  represented  the  feature  which 
has  been  represented  in  the  vernacular  of  the  country 
as  "hell  on  wheels,"  comprising  those  convenient 
vehicles  accompanying  railroad  building,  to  accom- 
modate men,  horses  and  mules  with  food,  and  others 
fitted  up  as  well  as  tents,  to  supply  the  superior  an- 
imal with  spirituous  refreshments  and  attending  re- 
creations in  the  way  of  cards  and  dice. 

There  were  long  rows  of  board  tables,  convenient 
in  their  light  construction  for  removal,  loaded  sub- 
stantially with  delicacies  usual  on  such  occasions — 
beans,  shoulders  of  beef,  fried  nuggets  of  bacon, 
slabs  of  perfectly  fresh  bread  steaming  hot,  pots 
of  coffee,  and  various  other  attractive  condiments. 

Many  of  the  tents  were  fitted  up  as  drinking  and 
gambling  saloons,  from  which  proceeded  the  melody 
of  violins  and  flutes,  with  accordion  accompani- 
ments. The  keepers  of  many  of  these  adjunctix'e 
resorts  were  of  the  most  abandoned  and  reckless 
cast,  as  much  so  as  one  could  expect  to  find,  and  one 
could  see  in  the  vicious  lines  of  their  faces,  and  beady 
eyes,  that  they  had  reached  the  bottom  lines  of 
desperate  life. 

Two  outfits  of  this  character  had  now  come  to- 
gether, composed  of  the  lowest  order  of  ruffians  to 
be  found  anywhere,  and  knowing  that  their  oppor- 
tunities for  plunder  were  about  to  vanish  with  the 
paid-off,  departing  laborers,  were  displaying  unusual 
activity  in  their  last  efforts. 

No  sooner  had  we  landed  than  we  were  surrounded 


A  Sportsman  371 

by  a  score  of  hard-looking  characters,  who  viewed  us 
with  interest,  and  in  probable  expectation  of  gaining 
profit  from  our  advent.  Proffers  of  assistance  in  carry- 
ing our  hand-baggage  were  given,  which  we  declined, 
holding  firmly  to  our  possessions.  We  had  nothing  to 
do  but  look  about  and  patiently  wait  for  the  convey- 
ance we  had  telegraphed  for  two  days  before  to  Silver 
City,  fifty  miles  distant,  which  we  assumed  would 
arrive  during  the  day,  to  carry  us  on  to  Hudson.  The 
latter  place  was  situated  twenty-five  miles  distant, 
midway  between  Deming  and  Silver  City,  the  only  set- 
tlement on  the  route  where  a  rough  sort  of  a  hotel 
existed,  carried  on  by  Hudson,  a  long  time  settled  in 
the  region. 

Two  long  freight  trains  from  California  stood  on  a 
hastily  constructed  siding,  which  were  being  unloaded. 
One  of  the  trains  had  a  car-load  of  second-class  pas- 
sengers bound  east,  and  an  express  car.  The  latter 
had  been  fitted  up  as  a  telegraph  and  business  office 
and  here  was  our  first  introduction  to  Tucker,  the  ex- 
press agent,  a  stout,  resolute-looking  man,  who  had 
a  pair  of  large  navy  revolvers  hanging  from  his  hip. 
To  him  we  were  indebted  for  attention,  and  his  ap- 
pearance gave  confidence.  He  was  busily  engaged  in 
the  duties  of  his  work  and,  with  the  telegraph  operator, 
appeared  to  be  in  full  charge  of  the  railroad  freight 
and  express  business. 

Acquainting  him  with  our  situation,  waiting  for  our 
transportation,  he  permitted  us  to  deposit  our  baggage 
in  the  end  of  his  car,  promising  to  take  care  of  it.  It 
was  evident  that  he  was  well  fitted  for  the  position  he 
occupied,  and  perfectly  fearless  of  the  crowd  which 
honored  us  with  their  pressing  attentions,  and  we  saw 


372  Reminiscences  of 

clearly  that  the  assemblage  stood  in  appreciative  awe 
of  him;  and  he  had  undoubtedly  a  contingent  force  of 
railroad  employes  who  could  be  speedily  called  upon 
for  aid  whenever  it  might  be  required. 

He  was  a  noted  and  remarkable  character,  this 
Tucker,  as  will  afterward  be  seen  from  what  I  shall 
relate  of  him,  as  I  had  occasion  to  see  and  leani  much 
of  him  after  becoming  well  acquainted  during  my  many 
visits  to  New  Mexico. 

Together  we  sauntered  about  more  or  less,  keep- 
ing well  together  and  on  guard,  continually  followed 
by  hangers-on,  and  one  of  our  party,  Adams,  a  young 
man  from  Springfield,  Mass.,  met  with  two  advent- 
ures not  pleasant.  He  was  somewhat  difficult  to 
keep  in  line,  and  incautiously  entered  one  of  the  tents 
we  were  passing — where  some  minerals  were  displayed 
on  a  table  near  the  entrance.  The  interior  was  a 
drinking  saloon  (which  he  had  not  noticed),  and 
no  sooner  had  he  entered  than  a  burh'  ruffian  in- 
vited him  to  throw  dice  for  a  small  sum,  which  he 
declined ;  and,  having  satisfied  his  curiosity,  he  started 
to  go  out,  when  the  ruffian  blocked  the  outlet  and 
said  he  must  stand  drinks  for  the  half-dozen  inmates. 
Alarmed,  he  did  so,  as  the  easiest  method  of  escaping, 
just  as  we  were  returning  to  look  for  him,  and  related 
his  amusing  experience.  Somewhat  startled  by  the 
occurrence  and  having  several  hundred  dollars  about 
him,  and  in  anticipation  of  a  possible  hold-up,  he  took 
out  his  roll  of  bills  when  unobserved,  and  tucked  it 
down  next  to  his  heel  in  one  of  his  stockings.  But  we 
were  not  held  up,  and  at  night  when  looking  for  his 
roll  of  money  he  found  it  had  worked  out  and  was 
lost,  and  he  never  saw  it  again. 


A  Sportsman  373 

Noon  came,  but  no  team  for  us,  and  we  took  our 
dinner  at  one  of  the  tables,  beginning  to  feel  ap- 
prehensive that  we  might  be  left  over  for  the  night — 
not  a  pleasant  prospect.  Four  o'clock  came,  but  no 
team.  It  was  time  for  some  action  and  I  consulted 
Tucker.  He  suggested  that  we  should  strike  out 
among  the  straggling  stunted  growth  of  bushes  in 
the  neighborhood  and  camp  there,  as  his  car  and 
every  accommodation  was  crowded  full.  A  South- 
em  Pacific  palace  sleeping  car  stood  on  a  siding  about 
a  hundred  rods  beyond  the  settlement,  left  by  some 
of  the  minor  officers  of  the  railroad,  who  had  gone 
oflf  to  Silver  City  for  two  or  three  days,  and  had  left 
strict  orders  that  it  should  not  be  occupied  during 
their  absence,  and  no  one  about  had  any  authority 
to  allow  it.  I  found  the  telegraph  was  working 
direct  to  San  Francisco,  and  knowing  Mr.  A.  N. 
Towne,  manager  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  very  well, 
I  concluded  to  try  and  reach  him  on  the  wire  and 
see  if  I  could  not  get  permission  to  take  the  car ;  con- 
cluding, if  I  could  not  get  an  answer  in  season,  that 
we  would  strike  out  for  the  bush  at  dark,  and  locating 
first  temporarily  would  at  a  later  hour  move  off 
a  mile  or  more  still  further  away,  where  we  could 
rest  safely  until  morning. 

As  dusk  came  on  we  were  about  ready  to  move  out, 
when  an  answer  came  from  Mr.  Towne  giving  us  the 
car.  Taking  our  hand  baggage,  and  with  our  tele- 
gram certified  to  by  Tucker,  we  started  off  for  the 
car,  escorted  by  a  body-guard  of  about  a  score  of 
ruffians.  We  found  the  car  firmly  locked,  with  its 
curtains  closely  drawn  down,  in  charge  of  a  colored 
porter,    who   paid   no   attention   to   our  knocks   and 


374  Reminiscences  of 

banging  on  the  door,  which  our  soHcitous  friends 
insisted  upon  aiding.  We  finally  got  the  porter 
to  take  our  telegram  thrust  under  the  door,  and 
upon  reading  it  he  cautiously  opened  sufficient  for 
us  to  squeeze  through,  having  some  trouble  in  keeping 
out  our  officious  friends,  who  said  we  shovdd  kill  the 
damned  nigger  for  keeping  gentlemen  waiting.  The 
door  closed  locked,  to  the  intense  disgust  of  our  body- 
guard, who  vented  their  disappointment  in  bad 
words,  banging  knocks,  and  calls  for  several  moments, 
when  they  retired  with  oaths  not  agreeable  to  hear. 

I  asked  Tucker  before  leaving  if  he  thought  there 
would  be  any  danger  of  an  attack  on  the  car.  He 
said,  "No;  if  there  is  any,  shoot  to  kill,  and  we'll  be 
up  there  on  the  run."  And  as  he  left,  he  repeated 
in  the  hearing  of  some  of  our  body-guard,  "Have 
a  good  night's  rest,  and  if  there  is  any  trouble,  fire  a 
shot,  and  we  '11  be  up  there  quick.  " 

We  got  along  very  comfortably  until  about  ten 
o'clock,  when  our  porter,  who  was  a  pretty  well 
frightened  fellow,  and  kept  an  attentive  ear,  informed 
us  that  a  squad  of  men  was  coming  up  the  track 
toward  us.  Sure  enough,  we  saw  them  by  peeping 
under  the  curtain  at  the  door  and  immediately  ex- 
tinguished the  few  lights  we  had  burning.  The 
squad  soon  arrived,  and  for  a  while  we  heard  them 
conversing  at  the  car  end,  followed  by  a  knock  at 
the   door,    to   which   we   paid   no   attention. 

Several  more  vigorous  knocks  followed,  with  a 
banging  sufficient  to  have  awakened  us  from  sleep, 
if  we  had  been  so  engaged,  and  a  rough  voice 
notified  us  that  an  important  telegram  had  been 
received. 


A  Sportsman  375 

Divided  upon  each  side  of  the  end  of  the  car,  with- 
out making  any  response,  we  sat  calmly  with  our 
repeating  rifles  in  hand,  fully  prepared  for  any  emer- 
gency which  might  occur,  and  determined  to  fire  upon 
any  intruders  who  might  come  in  upon  a  forcible  entry. 

The  united  strength  of  several  was  evidently  ex- 
erted in  pressure  upon  the  door,  but  without  avail. 
Upon  this  being  repeated,  with  violent  kicking,  Captain 
Slawson  called  out  asking  what  the  matter  was, 
and  was  answered  that  an  order  had  been  received 
to  get  into  the  car.  The  Captain  called  out  in  a 
loud  voice  that  no  one  could  come  in  until  morning, 
and  if  any  forcible  entrance  was  made,  there  would 
be  an  immediate  killing. 

Loose  railroad  ties  were  strewn  about  in  the  vicinity, 
and  it  occurred  to  us  that  one  of  these  might  be  em- 
ployed as  a  battering-ram  to  stave  in  the  door.  The 
Captain  heard  a  mention  of  this  from  the  outside,  and 
called  out  in  a  still  louder  voice  that  if  they  broke  in 
the  door  they  would  surely  be  killed,  for  we  were 
fully  armed  in  readiness.  This  settled  the  affair,  and 
our  callers  retired  after  some  further  talk  among 
themselves,  well  aware  that  results  too  serious  for 
them  would  occur  from  any  further  advances.  To- 
ward morning  we  were  awakened  by  our  porter, 
who  gave  us  word  that  some  mysterious  actions 
were  going  on  beneath  our  car,  and  feared  we  were 
going  to  be  blown  up.  We  aroused  quickly  in  response, 
and  surely  there  were  curious  proceedings  going  on 
below.  A  slight  investigation,  however,  put  us  l^'at 
ease,  as  we  found  the  cause  of  tnis  noise  proceeded 
from  coyotes  disputing  for  bones  and  offal  thrown  out 
by  the  porter. 


Z7(>  Reminiscences  of 

We  heard  a  number  of  pistol  shots  during  the 
night  proceeding  from  the  tented  town,  which  we 
had  no  curiosity  to  investigate,  but  found  in  the 
morning  that  one  man  had  been  killed  and  several 
wounded — which  accounted  for  the  shots — resulting 
from  a  misunderstanding  between  some  gentlemen 
of  the  town.  There  was  no  officer  of  the  law  at  the 
settlement,  but  one  Jack  Smith  claimed  to  be  a 
sheriff,  and  exercised  his  authority  that  night  with 
several  assistants  in  holding  up  and  going  through 
a  car-load  of  second-class  passengers,  that  had  ar- 
rived in  the  evening  from  California  and  was  held 
over  on  the  track  for  proceeding  north  the  follow- 
ing day. 

This  fraudulently  assumed  sheriff,  in  the  middle 
of  the  night,  with  half  a  dozen  drunken  assistants, 
stood  up  and  robbed  every  one  of  the  passengers 
on  this  car,  assaulting  and  knocking  down  several 
of  the  victims  who  stopped  to  protest,  or  were  too 
slow  in  handing  over.  In  fact,  no  official  agent  of 
the  law  existed  at  the  settlement,  where  every  one 
was  dependent  upon  himself  or  his  friends. 

The  conditions  at  Deming,  New  Mexico,  men- 
tioned, reminded  me  of  that  which  existed  at  Chey- 
enne in  Wyoming  Territory  in  the  winter  of  1867, 
during  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad 
on  its  way  to  Utah  to  connect  with  the  Central 
Pacific  railroad  from  California.  The  "  hell  on  wheels  " 
camped  here  had  signalized  itself  in  a  particularly 
atrocious  manner  at  Julesburgh  while  on  its  way 
accompanying  the  railroad,  and  had  for  some 
weeks  made  a  rest  at  ■  the  then  moderate  settle- 
ment   of    Cheyenne,     where    its     force    was    largely 


A  Sportsman  377 

augmented  by  numerous  ruffians  from  the  surround- 
ing region,  among  whom  were  many  bushwhackers 
from  Missouri,  rehcs  of  the  Civil  War  who  had  been 
scattered  and  driven  west  by  the  successful  Union 
army,  and  who  largely  infested  Colorado  and  Montana, 
where  many  were  shot  or  strung  up  for  their  misdeeds. 
The  night  I  came  into  Cheyenne  at  the  terminus  of  the 
railroad,  to  remain  over  night  and  take  a  conveyance 
for  Denver  the  following  morning,  something  over  a 
hundred  miles  distant,  a  most  unusual  affair  occurred. 
A  crisis  had  arrived.  The  "Hellers"  had  become  so  ag- 
gressive and  arrogant,  that  a  secret  action  had  been 
determined  upon  by  the  peaceful  and  law-abiding 
residents  of  the  town,  to  get  rid  of  the  turbvilent 
element,  which  had  become  so  powerful  as  to  seri- 
ously threaten  their  safety. 

Boasts  had  been  made  by  the  Hellers  that  they 
proposed  to  run  the  town,  and  if  they  were  interfered 
with  they  would  bum  it  up.  A  fire  among  the  then 
existing  rows  of  wooden  buildings,  with  the  prevailing 
high  winds,  was  a  subject  to  consider  seriously.  From 
a  conflagration  the  Hellers  were  comparatively  safe, 
as  their  array  of  tents,  booths  and  vehicles  were 
on  one  side  of  the  town,  before  which  they  paraded 
in  force  well  armed  every  day.  The  plan  of  the  towns- 
men was  well  carried  out  that  night,  when  a  hundred 
men  with  repeating  rifles  at  midnight  appeared  in 
front  of  "Hell  Town,"  calling  for  the  surrender  of  the 
most  prominent  Hellers  who  had  boasted  of  their 
ability  to  regulate  and  bum  the  town  if  they  chose. 

A  few  defiantly  stepped  out  from  the  tents  in  re- 
sponse, who  were  instantly  shot  down  in  their  tracks. 
Ample    notice   had   been   given    for    the    Hellers    to 


3/8  Reminiscences  of 

remove,  which  they  had  paid  no  attention  to.  A 
volley  of  bullets  was  fired  through  the  tops  of  the 
tents  and  sleeping  wagons,  from  which  all  of  the 
occupants  hastily  retired  by  the  rear  to  the  bushes 
beyond,  and  although  a  number  of  shots  were  fired 
in  the  retreat  at  the  vigilants,  none  were  hit.  The 
town  had  been  prepared  and  was  on  guard,  and  three 
or  four  of  the  Hellers  found  out  in  the  streets  were 
shot  down.  I  slept  so  soundly  that  I  did  not  hear 
the  shots,  but  in  the  morning  found  the  little  town 
in  agitation.  But  order  was  restored,  and  at  an 
early  hour  the  Hellers  removed  their  effects  several 
miles  beyond  the  town  on  the  line  of  the  building 
railroad. 

Committees  of  order  and  protection  were  formed, 
and  proper  guards  were  established.  All  arriving  in 
town  were  disarmed,  and  had  their  weapons  returned 
to  them  upon  departure.  The  Hellers,  well  known, 
gave  the  town  a  wide  berth.  When  I  returned  a 
few  weeks  afterward  to  take  the  cars  for  the  East, 
I  found  the  town  largely  increased  and  in  good  order. 
The  "hell  on  wheels"  had  gone  far  on  westward.  I 
was  shown  an  adjacent  graveyard  devoted  to  the 
burial  of  roughs,  where  I  was  informed  over  a  score 
of  bodies  rested,  without  one  occupant  who  had  died 
a  natural  death. 

In  the  forenoon,  about  ten  o'clock,  our  convey- 
ance arrived — an  open  wagon  with  four  horses — and 
we  were  glad  to  leave  the  interesting  town  of  Dem- 
ing,  somewhat  perhaps  to  the  regret  of  sundry  in- 
dividuals who  insisted  upon  aiding  us  in  storing 
away  our  baggage.  A  detachment  of  troops  from 
the    Fort    Bayard   government   station,   forty  miles 


A  Sportsman  379 

distant,  arrived  at  Deming  that  day  to  assist  in  pre- 
serving order,  at  the  request  of  the  railroad  people. 

In  a  few  hours  we  arrived  at  the  nearest  settle- 
ment from  Deming,  twenty-five  miles  distant,  at 
the  celebrated  Hot  Spring,  owned  by  one  Hudson, 
who  conducted  a  moderate  hotel  for  the  conven- 
ience of  invalids  and  others.  This  spring  was  of  a 
remarkable  character,  and  of  ancient  origin,  having 
been  referred  to  by  the  earliest  travellers  in  the  region 
between  two  and  three  hundred  years  ago.  It  has 
formed  a  basin  of  fifty  feet  in  width,  and  some  fifteen 
feet  in  depth  above  the  surrounding  level,  formed 
by  the  debris  of  overflowing  water  during  past  cen- 
turies. The  water  was  clear  and  greenish  and  bubbled 
up  plentifully  from  the  bottom  of  the  basin.  Its 
heat  was  almost  up  to  a  boiling  temperature  when 
it  escapes  from  the  bottom,  and  about  the  banks 
of  the  pool  will  pretty  well  cook  eggs  in  twelve  or 
fifteen  minutes.  The  water  in  the  banks  being  higher 
than  the  surrounding  land  is  conveyed  in  a  ditch 
for  irrigating  a  spacious  garden,  where  vegetables, 
flowers,  and  vines  are  grown,  as  well  as  fruit  and 
ornamental  trees ;  and,  although  the  water  is  not  pure, 
is  svifficiently  free  from  impurities  to  answer  for  drink- 
ing, and  is  accounted  by  some  to  have  favorable 
medicinal   qualities,   for  which   the   spring  is  sought. 

It  seems  to  be  a  universal  habit  with  humanity, 
when  discovering  any  springs  which  are  off  the  line 
of  purity,  to  ascribe  curative  qualities  to  them, 
and  no  doubt  many  are  highly  beneficial.  Those  of 
Saratoga,  the  Sulphur  Springs  of  Virginia,  the  Hot 
Springs  of  Arkansas,  those  of  Carlsbad,  Vichy,  and 
other  localities  are  noted   in  this  respect.     Beneath 


380  Reminiscences  of 

the  city  of  Pueblo,  Colorado,  one  of  sixty  thousand 
inhabitants,  there  is  a  large  area  of  miles  in  extent 
where  warm  mineral  waters  of  various  quantities  can 
be  reached  in  from  six  hundred  to  twelve  hundred 
feet  below  the  surface,  which  have  artesian  pressure 
sufficient  to  convey  the  water  up  a  hundred  feet  above 
the  ground,  and  flow  thousands  of  barrels  a  day. 

Besides  the  Hudson  spring  there  are  many  others 
of  a  similar  but  minor  character  on  the  plains  within 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  of  the  Hudson.  The  flow 
from  the  latter  is  of  such  quantity  as  to  make  a  mod- 
erate-sized stream,  which  runs  off  for  a  considerable 
distance  before  being  soaked  up  by  the  dry  soil. 

While  on  the  subject  of  springs,  I  will  mention  that 
New  Mexico,  a  somewhat  dry  region  during  months 
of  dry  weather,  abounds  in  many  noted  mineral 
springs  of  large  volume.  One  I  saw,  the  Berrendo, 
which  broke  out  on  a  level  plain,  with  a  stream  as 
large  as  a  moderately  sized  man's  body,  which  made 
a  pool  sufficient  at  all  seasons  to  supply  ten  thou- 
sand cattle.  At  another  place,  where  a  large  well  was 
sunk  twenty  feet,  it  could  not  be  proceeded  with 
by  further  sinking,  as  water  of  fine  quality  flowed 
along  at  the  bottom  in  a  steady  stream. 

The  Membres  stream  in  the  mountains  fifty  miles 
west  from  Deming,  to  which  we  were  proceeding 
and  where  we  made  headquarters — camping  there 
for  a  few  weeks,  and  where  we  found  fairly  good 
trout  fishing — disappears  in  the  ground  thirty  miles 
from  Deming,  but,  having  a  flow  beneath  the  surface, 
supplies  the  town  with  a  bountiful  supply  of  good 
water,  reached  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  below  the 
surface.     This    flow    of    water    is    drawn    plentifully 


A  Sportsman  381 

upon  in  the  dry  season  by  a  large  number  of  pumping 
wind-mills. 

After  a  rest  of  an  hour  or  two  at  Hudson  we  drove 
on  for  the  Membres  Mountains,  twenty-five  miles 
further  on,  reaching  there  about  dusk,  and  prepared 
a  rough  camp  for  the  night,  building  a  better  one 
the  following  day.  We  had  a  terrible  scare  on  the 
way.  The  subject  of  Apache  Indians  was  one  of 
more  or  less  conversation.  We  were  aware  that 
they  had  lately  gone  off  the  government  reservation 
some  sixty  miles  from  our  neighborhood,  but  no  reports 
had  been  given  of  their  being  anywhere  near  our  vi- 
cinity, and  the  United  States  troops  from  Fort  Bayard, 
near  our  route,  had  gone  out  in  force  after  them. 

We  had  arrived  in  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains, 
and  it  was  mentioned  that  it  would  not  be  a  very 
pleasant  place  to  be  met  by  Indians,  for  the  road 
was  narrow,  and  the  neighboring  hills,  covered  with 
pine  growth,  would  afford  fine  opportunities  for 
being  waylaid.  Looking  well  ahead,  we  were  as- 
tounded to  see  two  Indians  with  guns  emerge  from 
a  ravine  into  the  road,  and  walk  along,  followed 
shortly  by  several  others  likewise  armed.  It  was 
a  bad  place  for  a  scrimmage,  as  the  road  was  too 
narrow  to  turn  about  in.  We  all  leaped  out  with 
our  repeating  rifles,  directing  our  driver  to  turn  in 
and  tie  his  horses  in  the  brush  by  the  road,  while 
we  separated  on  each  side,  prepared  to  make  as  vig- 
orous a  stand  as  possible  for  life,  as  there  could  be 
no  surrender  to  savages  so  notorious  for  their  cruel- 
ties and  torturing  as  the  Apaches.  Behind  trees 
and  rocks  we  scudded  with  alacrity. 

The  Indians  apparently  had  not  observed  us,  as 


382  Reminiscences  of 

they  were  some  way  ahead.  Singular,  we  thought, 
that  these  keen-eyed  savages  had  not  seen  us.  As 
we  regarded  them  in  the  distance  we  were  wonder- 
fully pleased  to  see  a  white  man  on  horseback  emerge 
from  the  roadside  and  join  them,  and  that  he  was 
in  the  uniform  of  our  government,  and  we  instantly 
conjectured  that  he  was  in  charge  of  a  party  of  Indian 
scouts,  which  proved  to  be  the  case.  Our  heart 
beatings  began  to  subside,  and  we  regained  our  seats 
in  the  wagon  and  drove  on  among  them.  They  were 
a  most  villainous-looking  troop,  and  paid  no  more 
attention  to  us  than  if  we  had  not  addressed  them 
in  the  usual  "How,"  "How."  This  suUen,  cruel- 
looking  band  shortly  after  broke  away  and  joined 
the  Apaches  from  the  reservation  on  the  war-path, 
and  committed  many  forays  and  murders  among 
the  scattered  settlements  of  the  southwestern  parts 
of  the  Territory.  These  Indians  were  finally  gathered 
in  by  the  United  States  troops,  after  many  long  and 
wearisome  foUowings  directed  by  General  Miles. 

Our  camping  place  was  in  the  Membres  Valley, 
near  the  stream,  where  a  few  settlements  of  cattle- 
men and  small  farmers  were,  and  a  few  miles  above, 
the  somewhat  deserted  mining  town  of  Georgetown. 
We  found  deer  plentiful  in  the  neighboring  moun- 
tains, which  supplied  us  with  meat,  and  from  the 
streams  obtained  sufficient  trout  for  our  wants. 
Quail  were  plentiful,  and  an  occasional  wild  turkey 
graced  our  table.  A  considerable  Indian  scare  was 
on,  which  deterred  us  from  going  on  to  the  White 
Mountains,  and  the  Black  range,  from  forty  to  fifty 
miles  west,  from  which  we  had  glowmg  accounts 
of  game  by  those  familiar  with  the  regions. 


A  Sportsman  383 

We  had  some  apprehensions  of  danger  from  the 
proximity  of  desperate  white  men,  cattle  thieves 
who  were  having  conflicts  about  us  in  the  valley 
with  the  cattle-men,  and  they  seemed  in  large  force. 
This  induced  us  to  remove  our  camp  west  some  ten 
miles  to  the  Santa  Rita  Valley,  where  there  were 
a  number  of  deserted  adobe  buildings,  besides  a 
partly  ruined  fort  built  a  century  before  by  Spanish 
miners,  where  cannons  were  originally  mounted  to 
defend  the  workmen  employed  in  the  copper  mines. 
These  mines  were  very  rich,  containing  much  native 
copper,  and  were  extensively  worked  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  before  any  others  on  the  continent 
now  occupied  by  the  United  States,  and  for  many 
years  supplied  old  Mexico  with  its  copper  coinage. 
The  copper  from  these  mines  was  transported  on 
mule's  backs  more  than  1500  miles  to  the  City  of 
Mexico.  Copper  at  that  time  was  high  in  price, 
ruling  from  fifty  to  sixty  cents  a  pound,  now  con- 
sidered high  at  fifteen  cents.  From  1837  to  1862 
these  mines  ceased  to  be  worked,  owing  to  the  un- 
settled condition  of  a  region  where  the  Apache  Indians 
held  the  country  in  tribute. 

In  1863  the  Confederate  forces,  being  in  want  of 
cannon,  invaded  the  region  and  had  the  mines  worked 
for  copper  to  the  extent  of  over  a  hundred  tons, 
which  was  transported  across  the  country  to  Texas 
ports.  After  the  war,  until  the  time  of  my  visit,  the 
mines  remained  unworked  until  I  became  interested 
in  them,  and  they  have  been  worked  continually 
since.  These  mines  diverted  me  from  the  purpose 
I  had  of  writing  a  history  of  New  Mexico,  as  I  did 
of  Colorado  in   1865. 


384  Reminiscences  of 

We  found  the  valley  of  considerable  extent, 
surrounded  by  high  hills,  and  a  most  pleasant  place, 
having  fine  grazing  for  our  horses,  and  good  springs 
of  water.  Upon  the  summit  of  a  high  mountain 
rising  east  from  the  valley  was  an  immense  mono- 
lith of  granite,  having  the  form  of  a  kneeling  nun, 
visible  for  many  miles  from  all  directions,  a  prominent 
landmark  visible  for  more  than  twenty  miles.  At 
one  place,  by  the  small  stream  which  meandered 
through  the  valley,  was  an  old  peach  orchard  planted 
more  than  a  century  before,  where  the  trees,  dying 
of  old  age,  had  renewed  themselves  with  new  sprouts 
as  the  old  trees  fell  away,  and  were  now  bearing  fruit, 
though  of  an  ordinary  kind.  We  found  very  good  sport 
about  this  valley,  as  deer  were  plentiful  in  the  sur- 
rounding hills. 

When  we  returned  to  Deming — heretofore  men- 
tioned— ^we  found  a  great  change  had  occurred.  A 
large  general  depot  was  being  built  for  the  two  roads. 
Many  houses  were  going  up,  and  order  was  pretty 
well  sustained,  although  a  good  many  rustlers  were 
about.  Tucker  had  been  made  sheriff,  and  had 
signalized  his  promotion  by  shooting  down  a  num- 
ber of  turbulent  characters.  When  committing  one 
of  these  acts,  an  immediate  hearing  occurred  be- 
fore the  local  court,  from  which  he  received  a  speedy 
acquittal.  When  I  came  down  to  Deming  some 
months  afterward  he  had  on  the  day  of  my  arrival 
shot  down  a  desperate  character  for  whom  a  warrant 
was  out,  who  had  shot  a  cattle-man  in  the  vicinity 
in  a  most  unprovoked  manner. 

Tucker  had  killed  a  partner  of  this  man,  for  whom 
a  warrant  was  out,   who  was  slow  about  throwing 


A  Sportsman  385 

up  his  hands  in  an  arrest,  and  this  last  victim 
had  openly  threatened  the  life  of  Tucker  in  retali- 
ation. He  came  in  on  the  day  of  his  death  while 
heavily  under  the  influence  of  liquor  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  his  threat.  Of  this,  Tucker  was 
well  advised.  The  man  came  in  at  the  station  on 
horseback,  thoroughly  armed,  with  his  repeating 
rifle  in  hand,  inquiring  for  Tucker.  He  rode  up  on 
the  hotel  platform  and  through  an  archway  constructed 
in  the  hotel  for  foot-passengers  to  cross  the  tracks 
on  each  side.  Meeting  in  this  passageway  one  of 
the  hotel  employes,  who  held  up  his  hands  to  warn 
him  from  passing,  he  knocked  him  down  by  a  blow 
on  the  head  from  his  gun,  and  passed  through,  dis- 
mounting on  the  other  side,  and  after  tying  his  horse 
proceeded  to  the  restaurant  in  the  hotel,  where  he 
seated  himself  with  his  rifle  placed  on  the  table  in 
front  of  him,  and  called  for  some  food.  He  seemed 
unable  to  eat  anything,  either  from  excitement,  or 
the   condition   of   his   stomach. 

Tucker  was  apprised  of  the  situation  and  on  the 
alert.  The  man  shortly  rose  from  the  table,  and 
with  rifle  in  hand  made  his  way  out  to  regain  his 
horse.  As  he  came  out  from  the  passageway.  Tucker 
made  his  appearance  from  the  hotel  side,  where 
he  had  been  waiting,  and  promptly  ordered  hands 
up.  Although  the  desperado  was  looking  into  the 
two  barrels  of  a  shotgun  loaded  with  buckshot,  he 
attempted  to  raise  his  own  gun  in  defence,  but  be- 
fore he  could  raise  it  he  fell,  mortally  wounded  from 
the  discharge  of  Tucker's  gun,  and  the  work  of  death 
was  over.  Tucker's  shotgun,  which  he  habitually 
carried  when  on  the  lookout  for  a  close  encounter, 


386  Reminiscences  of 

had  its  barrels  sawed  off  within  six  inches  of  the  stock, 
and  could  be  well  stowed  away  beneath  his  coat, 
and  this  he  kept  loaded  with  buckshot. 

The  body  was  lying  in  the  railroad  baggage-room, 
where  it  was  a  star  attraction  of  the  day.  An  in- 
quest had  been  held,  and  a  court  hearing,  from  which 
Tucker  had  been  immediately  acquitted,  as  acting 
in  self-defence  in  the  execution  of  his  duty.  The 
region  was  less  another  desperate  rufhan,  and  I  think 
the  notches  on  Tucker's  gun  were  well  up  to  a  dozen. 

Tucker  was  not  left  unmolested  by  the  rough  ele- 
ment, whose  ranks  he  had  depleted,  and  received 
several  close  calls  from  friends  of  the  men  he  had 
put  away.  He  told  me  that,  however  cautious  he 
might  be,  he  feared  they  would  some  day  get  the 
drop  on  him,  and  soon  after  this  conversation,  having 
one  evening  been  shot  at  and  slightly  wounded, 
he  pulled  out  from  Deming  for  Ohio,  his  native  State. 
He  gave  me  what  he  considered  valuable  advice 
to-be  followed  in  close  encounters  when  armed  with 
his  favorite  weapon,  a  double-barrelled  gun,  sawed 
off  short  and  loaded  with  buckshot  —  to  shoot 
always  for  the  stomach,  for, if  it  did  not  immediately 
kill,  it  incapacitated  the  recipient  from  making 
any  further  resistance,  owing  to  the  deathly  sickness 
which  followed.  I  have  never  had  an  opportunity 
yet  of  testing  the  system. 

Within  four  years  after  the  advent  of  the  rail- 
road. Tucker  had  a  list  of  seventy-odd  names  of  bad 
men  who  he  said  had  been  disposed  of  by  sudden 
and  violent  deaths  in  Grant  County,  in  which  Deming 
was    situated. 

I   proceeded  from  Deming  with  Captain  Slawson 


A  Sportsman  387 

and  his  assistant  to  Santa  F^,  the  capital  of  the  Terri- 
tory, which  I  made  headquarters  for  some  time, 
and  frequently  visited  it  during  my  trips  to  New 
Mexico,  at  one  time  staying  there  while  Gen.  Lew 
Wallace  was  governor  of  the  Territory.  I  formed 
a  very  pleasant  friendship  with  him,  and  we  planned 
several  excursions  to  take  together  in  distant  and 
vmexplored  points  of  the  Territory  for  adventure 
and  new  discovery,  to  be  accompanied  by  a  detach- 
ment of  soldiers,  but  which  were  never  realized. 
At  that  time  he  was  engaged  in  writing  his  cele- 
brated work  Ben  Hur  and  he  would  often  read 
over  to  me  portions  he  had  written,  which  I  much 
admired,  little  anticipating,  however,  the  great  at- 
tention this  book  would  receive  when  published, 
as  it  has  been  more  extensively  circulated  and  read 
than  any  other  of  late  days.  We  often  dined  and 
had  pleasant  smokes  together. 

The  Santa  F6  railroad,  which  was  hurriedly  built 
through  the  Territory  and  from  Deming  to  Arizona, 
met  with  more  than  the  usual  mishaps  of  newly 
built  roads,  and  I  waited  one  time  for  two  weeks  in 
Santa  F6,  during  the  rainy  season,  for  the  road  to 
be  put  in  order  from  the  washouts  which  occurred 
on  the  line  north  going  to  Colorado,  and  after  leaving 
Santa  F^  was  a  week  in  getting  on  to  Colorado  Springs, 
over  a  distance  covered  in  usual  time  in  a  day.  And 
one  time,  near  Las  Vegas,  when  we  had  halted  the 
train,  after  going  over  a  shaky  place,  the  track  and 
road-bed  washed  away  behind  us.  The  engine,  cutting 
away  from  us,  went  on  to  investigate  the  conditions 
ahead,  could  not  return,  as  the  track  broke  away 
between   us,   and   our   train    was    thus   left    isolated 


388  Reminiscences  of 

for  a  day  and  a  half.  Altogether  our  train  waited 
for  the  repair  of  over  twenty  breaks,  on  our  way  to 
Colorado. 

The  selection  of  route  by  this  railroad  was  an  un- 
fortunate one,  which  has  cost  the  company  many 
millions  and  will  continue  to  be  costly  in  the  future 
during  seasons  of  flood,  until  a  radical  change  in 
route  occurs. 

While  in  Santa  F^  upon  my  first  return  from  Deming, 
a  friend  of  mine  from  New  York,  Mr.  Ballou,  arrived 
there,  accompanied  by  General  U.  S.  Grant,  for  the 
purpose  of  visiting  a  somewhat  famous  copper  mining 
district,  forty  miles  southwest  in  the  Sandia  Moun- 
tains, known  as  the  Canon  del  Agua.  I  was  invited 
to  accompany  them,  which  I  did.  I  had  previously 
arranged  with  Captain  Slawson,  a  mining  expert 
in  my  employ,  and  his  assistant  to  meet  me  at  the 
Mexican  town  of  Bernalillo  on  the  Rio  Grande  be- 
yond the  district  to  which  Mr.  Ballou  and  General 
Grant  were  going.  So  this  district  was  on  my  route, 
and  I  had  several  days  to  spare.  We  made  the  jour- 
ney comfortably  in  a  day  with  a  government  ambu- 
lance wagon,  drawn  by  four  mules,  furnished  from  the 
military  station  at  Santa  ¥6  to  the  General. 

We  made  our  residence  at  the  mines  in  the  house 
of  the  mining  superintendent,  where  accommodations 
had  been  prepared  for  us.  I  remained  here  for  three 
days.  General  Grant  having  been  President  of  the 
United  States  for  two  terms,  and  having  rendered 
distinguished  service  to  his  country,  was  in  conse- 
quence a  most  important  man,  and  had  been  sought 
for  by  some  parties  interested  in  the  mining  property 
we  were  visiting,  to  take  the   presidency  of  a  com- 


A  Sportsman  389 

pany,  which  had  been  organized  upon  it.  The  pecun- 
iary condition  of  the  retired  President  and  General 
was  not  an  independent  one,  and  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  he  had  a  desire  to  improve  it,  and 
many  opportunities  had  been  presented  to  him  by 
parties  engaged  in  various  enterprises  to  advance 
his  fortune,  and  likewise  benefit  the  proposers  in  the 
advantages  to  be  gained  from  his  prestige. 

In  this  instance,  it  was  expected  that  he  would 
take  the  presidency  of  the  company  which  had  been 
formed,  with  a  salary  equal  to  that  he  had  received 
when  President  of  the  United  States,  of  $25,000 
per  annum.  I  am  informed  that  he  actually  did 
take  the  presidency  of  the  company,  which  he  re- 
linquished after  one  day's  holding,  and  the  com- 
pany had  an  adverse  result.  During  the  two  days 
after  our  arrival  we  made  excursions  on  horseback 
over  the  property  and  its  surroundings,  and  the 
General  expressed  himself  as  highly  pleased  with 
the  result,  and  expressed  the  belief  that  the  prop- 
erty presented  a  field  of  profitable  exploitation  for 
thousands  of  men  for  many  years.  This  did  not 
correspond  with  my  own  impression,  which  in  my 
situation    I    had   no   occasion    to   express. 

I  had  an  opportiinity  of  observing  General  Grant 
during  these  three  or  four  days,  and  was  struck  with 
his  simplicity  and  reserved  strength.  He  was  pleasant 
and  unreserved.  His  knowledge  of  the  country  in 
its  geographical  features  was  remarkable,  as  he  was 
entirely  correct,  somewhat  to  the  surprise  of  his 
hearers,  in  his  estimates  of  distances  from  point  to 
point,  accounted  for  by  his  good  memory  of  information 
acquired   in  his  early  days  when  stationed   in   New 


39°  Reminiscences  of 

Mexico  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  service. 
As  a  tactician  he  was  eminent,  possessing  that  fac- 
ulty characteristic  of  all  great  generals,  from  ancient 
times  down  to  modern,  which  in  General  Grant's  in- 
stance, coupled  with  military  training  and  indomitable 
covirage  and  persistence,  gained  for  him  the  success 
he  deserved.  Beyond  these  traits  so  prominent,  and 
of  such  incalculable  value  for  the  success  of  the  Union 
armies,  I  failed  to  observe  in  him  any  conspicuous 
featiires  of  comprehensive  greatness.  The  great  bard 
tells  us  some  are  bom  to  greatness,  others  achieve  it, 
and  others  have  it  thrust  upon  them.  Many  live  and 
die  in  obscurity,  lacking  the  opportunity  to  display 
their  particular  merits.  But  the  opportunities  oc- 
curred for  General  Grant,  Cromwell,  Cortez,  Lincoln, 
and  dozens  of  others  whose  names  are  familiar  from 
the  pages  of  history.  There  are  but  few,  however, 
who  have  been  great  in  all  senses,  of  whom  our  Washing- 
ton may  be  accounted  one.  A  peculiarity  of  General 
Grant's  most  noticeable  was  his  habit  of  incessant  smok- 
ing. He  seemed  never  without  his  friendly  cigar.  Wheii 
he  came  from  his  chamber  in  the  morning,  it  was  with  a 
lit  cigar,  and  during  the  day  it  was  only  laid  aside  at 
meals,  and  accompanied  him  to  his  sleeping  quarters. 

Going  on  from  the  Canon  del  Agua,  I  reached  Ber- 
nalillo in  a  day's  drive,  finding  Captain  Slawson  and 
assistant,  and  put  up  with  Mr.  Bebo,  a  Hebrew  store- 
keeper established  there.  This  Bebo  was  a  good- 
natured,  pleasant  man,  who  had  with  his  family  carried 
on  a  country  store  for  several  years,  who  gave  us  com- 
fortable quarters.  No  hotel  was  in  the  place,  and  only  a 
few  houses  were  about,  and  these  were  of  adobe  and 
occupied  by  Mexicans. 


A  Sportsman  39 1 

Bebo  had  written  Captain  Slawson  that  he  had  a 
most  extensive  and  valuable  copper  property  in  the 
Sandia  Mountains,  the  proposed  examination  of  which 
had  brought  us  here.  According  to  Bebo's  account, 
it  surpassed  any  known  elsewhere.  He  had  never 
personally  seen  it,  although  he  had  its  complete  con- 
trol through  an  agent  who  had  discovered  it,  and 
whom  he  had  supplied  with  moderate  means  to  keep 
it  in  hand.  It  could  be  reached  in  a  few  hours'  travel 
from  the  town,  and  its  existence,  for  various  reasons, 
had  been  kept  a  profound  secret,  which  was  now 
to  be  divulged  to  me,  a  possible  purchaser,  in  a  most 
confidential  manner.  His  man  was  to  arrive  from 
the  mountains  that  afternoon,  and  the  time  had  come 
for  him  to  arrive.  Sure  enough,  he  came.  A  sorry- 
looking  mule  of  stunted  growth,  mounted  by  a  cavalier 
of  ample  form  but  dilapidated  in  general  appearance, 
held  up  at  the  store  door.  His  unshaved  face,  blotched 
with  red  splashes,  and  watery  eyes,  partly  hidden 
by  his  flapping  sombrero,  were  not  attractive. 

He  sat  over  a  pair  of  well-worn  saddle-bags,  and 
about  his  waist  was  suspended  a  brace  of  revolvers. 
It  was  Jack  Williams,  the  possessor  of  a  burning 
secret  about  to  be  revealed. 

"Come    in,    Jack,"    said    Bebo. 

"  Yes,  you  bet  I  will,  and  I  am  half  dead  for  a  drink 
of  whisky,"  answered  Jack. 

"Well,  come  in  and  get  one — and  take  oflf  your 
belt,"  said  Bebo;  remarking  to  me  in  an  undertone, 
as  he  passed  by,  "I  have  to  do  this,  for  Jack  some- 
times gets  a  little  high  when  he  comes  in  and  I  have 
to  put  away  his  pistols." 

This  was  comforting,  and  Jack  proceeded  to  the 


392  Reminiscences  of 

rear  of  the  store  and  rapidly  emptied  a  medium-sized 
tumblerful  of  reddish  fluid.  He  returned  toward 
the  front  of  the  store,  smacking  his  lips,  and  say-ing 
he  felt  "all  right  now." 

We  stowed  away  for  the  night,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing, Jack,  mounted  on  a  mustang  of  Bebo's,  and  I, 
similarly  mounted,  left  for  the  great  mine,  which 
no  one  but  myself  could  be  permitted  to  see.  It  was 
a  drizzling,  wet  morning,  and  I  went  on  with  Jack, 
who  was  laboring  vmder  the  influence  of  an  evening's 
indulgence  in  red-eye,  to  the  hiUs,  while  Slawson 
and  his  assistant  took  the  trail  for  Jericho,  the  name 
of  a  settlement  where  Jack  lived,  and  where  we  were 
to  pass  the  night.  Jack  was  verj-  groggy-,  and,  being 
supplied  with  a  fresh  bottle  in  his  saddle-bags,  took 
frequent  hbations  to  clear  his  sight,  though  he  mis- 
took his  directions  several  times  and  I  began  to  doubt 
if  he  would  be  able  to  find  his  treasure.  The  sprinkle 
had  turned  into  rain,  and  I  wished  I  was  well  away 
from  the  prospective  Golconda.  which  was  getting  to 
be  a  mixed  feature.  Over  hills  and  valleys  we  crossed 
and  criss-crossed  without  being  able  to  find  it,  and 
finally  I  became  a  good  deal  alarmed,  esp>ecially  when 
Jack  seemed  to  be  approaching  a  maudlin  condition. 

The  mine  was  simply  a  m%-th  and  utterly  worth- 
less. It  was  certainly  not  an  occasion  for  me  to 
express  a  disappointment,  or  my  opinion  of  the  mine, 
and  of  Jack's  character,  which  now  stood  clearly 
revealed.  I  felt  boimd  to  conceal  my  disgust,  and, 
after  again  pledging  myself  to  the  utmost  secrecy, 
persuaded  him  to  pilot  the  way  to  Jericho,  where 
we  arrived  after  dark.  This  Jericho  was  a  small 
Mexican  settlement,  composed  of  a  few  adobe  houses, 


A  Sportsman  393 

and  had  lately  had  a  small  gathering  of  miners  at- 
tracted by  alleged  discoveries  of  gold  mines  in  the 
vicinity,  which  had  not  proved  of  much  value. 

Jack  had  offered  the  hospitality  of  his  adobe,  which 
I  found  was  a  miserable  tumble-down  place,  leaky 
and  unfurnished  and  hardly  fit  for  a  stable.  I  found 
Slawson  had  fallen  in  with  an  old  mining  man 
whom  he  had  known  in  former  years  in  Montana, 
and  had  gone  up  with  his  assistant  across  the  little 
creek  which  ran  through  the  settlement,  to  stop  with 
him,  and  had  arranged  for  me  to  stop  there  also. 
Jack  was  a  good  deal  put  out  at  this,  as  he  was  not 
on  good  terms  with  Brown  the  miner,  who  he  claimed 
was  inhabiting  his  adobe  without  paying  any  rent, 
and  said  he  would  have  his  scalp  before  he  got  through 
with  him.  But  Brown  cared  little  for  this,  being  a  reso- 
lute man,  and  said  Jack  did  not  own  the  house,  as  it  be- 
longed to  a  Mexican  who  received  five  dollars  a  month 
for  its  rental.  It  looked  cheerful  to  me  when  I  reached 
it,  where  a  blazing  fireplace  was  giving  out  warmth, 
and  the  odor  of  fried  bacon  from  the  rear  room  made 
the  hearty  welcome  I  received  still  more  agreeable. 
The  adobe  building  I  will  describe,  as  it  was  the 
scene  of  a  rather  exciting  episode  that  evening. 

It  was  composed  of  two  rooms;  the  front  living 
one  was  about  twenty  feet  square,  with  a  back  one 
of  ten  by  fourteen  used  as  a  kitchen,  containing  an 
earthen  cooking  range,  and  a  table,  with  two  or  three 
boxes  for  seats.  The  front  room  had  only  a  plain 
table,  two  chairs  and  a  few  boxes  for  seats,  no  bed, 
but  a  few  bear  and  deer  skins  on  the  floor  which 
answered  for  sleeping  upon,  a  few  blankets,  and  some 
small  articles,  with  some  wooden  hooks  on  the  walls 


394  Reminiscences  of 

holding  clothing,  with  two  guns  and  a  brace  of  revolveis. 
After  a  hearty  meal  of  fried  bacon,  potatoes,  bread, 
and  tea  we  were  seated  on  the  boxes  and  chairs, 
while  Brown  was  seated  on  a  bear  skin  on  the  floor, 
opposite  the  fire.  He  and  Slawson  were  reviewing 
their  experiences  in  Montana,  and  the  river-bank 
sluicing  they  had  been  engaged  in.  The  open  door 
was  darkened  by  the  entrance  of  Jack  Williams,  clad 
in  an  old  blue  army  overcoat,  who  came  in  from  the 
rain  and  seated  himself  on  a  vacant  box  near  the 
fire.  He  had  given  no  knock  at  the  door,  and  un- 
bidden took  his  seat  without  saj'ing  a  word.  Brown 
and  Slawson  after  a  moment's  silence  continued 
their  conversation  about  times  in  Montana.  Other- 
wise the  silence  would  have  been  more  awkAvard. 
After  a  few  moments  Jack  spoke  up  to  Brown,  telling 
him  he  wanted  him  to  vacate  the  premises,  as  they 
belonged  to  him.  Brown,  quietly  seated,  responded 
that  he  hired  the  house  of  a  Mexican,  paying  his  rent 
of  five  dollars  a  month,  and  that  he  proposed  to  remain, 
and  doubted  very  much  if  Jack  owned  the  property. 
Jack  then  with  much  profanity  accused  Brown  of 
taking  away  his  friends  (meaning  ourselves)  who 
came  out  to  stop  with  him.  This  and  some  more, 
when  Jack  became  so  abusive  that  Brown,  still  seated, 
ordered  him  out.  Upon  this  Jack  rose  in  a  threatening 
attitude,  addressing  Brown  with  a  string  of  vile  names. 
At  this  Brown  rose  from  his  seat,  and  seizing  Jack 
by  the  back  of  the  neck  pitched  him  with  much  force 
out  of  the  door  into  the  rain.  It  was  too  dark  outside 
to  see  where  Jack  fell,  but  he  quickly  recovered  him- 
self, and  pulling  his  pistol  fired  two  shots  at  Brown, 
who   still   stood   in   the   open   doorway.     Both   shots 


A  Sportsman  395 

missed,  taking  efifect  in  the  adobe   wall  close   to    the 
doorway,  as  we  observed  in  the  morning. 

Brown  at  these  shots  rapidly  fell  back  and  seizing 
one  of  the  revolvers  hanging  by  the  fireplace,  emptied 
the  barrels  of  his  pistol  from  the  doorway  in  the 
supposed  direction  of  Jack.  All  was  then  still,  and 
Brown  expressed  his  belief  that  he  had  surely  plunked 
Jack ;  but  no  search  was  made  outside,  nor  was  the  door 
closed,  and  Brown  shortly  resumed  his  seat  on  the  bear 
skin,  and  his  conversation  with  Slawson  about  Montana 
matters,  picking  up  the  subject  where  they  left  oflf. 

I  confess  I  did  not  feel  at  ease,  and  took  pains  to 
seat  myself  out  of  range  from  the  door  and  the  two 
windows,  one  being  in  front  and  the  other  on  the  side 
toward  Jack's  house. 

A  few  moments  afterward  the  doorway  was  filled 
by  another  caller.  It  was  a  man  named  Graham 
(between  whom  and  Jack  existed  a  grudge),  who 
hastih^  inquired  the  cause  of  the  shooting  he  had 
heard.  This  Brown  explained,  relating  the  particulars. 
"Good  God,"  said  Graham,  "then  it  was  Williams 
who  passed  me  as  I  was  coming  up  here.  Oh,  if  I 
had  only  known  it  was  he,  I  could  have  shot  him  easily." 
Out  he  rushed,  thinking  he  might  overtake  him.  But 
we  heard  no  further  shots,  and  he  evidently  failed  to 
overtake  the  valiant  Jack,  nor  did  Graham  return. 

The  morning  opened  clear  and  bright,  and  we 
mounted  our  horses  and  returned  to  Bernalillo.  As 
we  passed  Jack's  miserable  adobe  he  came  out  to  meet 
us.  Just  then  came  Graham  along  well  mounted 
on  a  gray  mustang.  He  held  up,  and  finding  where 
we  were  going  said  he  would  accompany  us.  I  looked 
for  trouble,  as  both  were  armed  with  a  brace  of  pistols 


396  Reminiscences  of 

usual  with  these  cavaUers.  I  looked  for  immediate 
trouble,  as  Jack  sneeringly  remarked  to  Graham, 
chagrined  to  find  he  was  going  along  with  us:  "Well! 
You  can  take  me  in  now  if  you  want  to,"  but  the 
latter  rode  ahead  without  making  any  reply. 

I  told  Jack  I  would  see  Bebo,  and  we  passed  on, 
leaving  him  cursing  as  we  departed.  I  told  Bebo 
I  could  not  do  anything  in  the  mine,  without  entering 
into  any  further  explanation,  and  we  rode  on  to 
the  town  of  Algodones,  further  up  the  Rio  Grande. 
From  this  town  we  rode  on  to  a  valley  a  few  miles 
off  the  road  in  the  hills  to  view  the  ruins  of  a  former 
Pueblo  settlement,  now  entirely  deserted,  and  which  had 
been  for  a  long  time.  We  were  attracted  to  the  place 
by  the  accounts  we  had  received  of  the  wood  petrifi- 
cations there.  We  found  a  large  number  of  petri- 
fied trees,  evidently  palms,  remnants  of  ages  before, 
when  the  palms  evidently  grew  in  profusion,  while 
now  only  stunted  pines  existed. 

The  evidence  was  conclusive  that  in  some  early 
period  the  climate  of  this  region  was  semitropical, 
and  that  this  condition  existed  not  only  here,  but 
for  hundreds  of  miles  further  north ;  and  at  the  pres- 
ent day  broken  fragments  of  palm-tree  petrifications 
can  be  gathered  below  the  foot-hill  regions  on  the 
plains  beyond  the  present  city  of  Denver,  in  Colorado, 
at  places  quite  plentiful. 

We  found  in  the  valley  we  visited,  immense  palm- 
tree  petrifications,  whole  trunks  of  trees  several  feet 
in  diameter,  and  scattered  in  profusion  over  a  larger 
area,  fragments  of  Indian  pottery,  showing  that  at 
one  time  the  region  must  have  been  largely  inhab- 
ited by  a  lost  race,  of  which  no  history  exists.     Great 


A  Sportsman  397 

climatic   changes   have   occurred    in    this   region   and 
north  beyond. 

At  one  time  the  Atlantic  Ocean  extended  to  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  clearly  indicated  by 
the  immense  deposits  of  sea-shells  and  petrified  marine 
animals  now  found  at  the  base  of  the  mountains. 

The  predecessors  of  the  whales,  black-fish,  grampus, 
porpoises,  and  other  warm-blooded  animals  of  the 
sea,  were  here  once  in  active  life  in  prehistoric  times, 
of  which  unmistakable  evidence  is  found.  At  the 
time  of  the  semitropical  climate,  when  all  the  land  from 
the  present  Atlantic  Coast  to  the  Rocky  Mountains 
excepting  a  few  hundred  feet  of  Mount  Washing- 
ton in  New  Hampshire  was  submerged,  and  prob- 
ably long  before  man  had  appeared  in  any  form 
similar  to  that  of  the  present,  the  saurian  family 
existed  in  great  variety,  of  which  the  ichthyosaurian 
remains  found  from  California  to  Wyoming  indicate 
the  immense  profusion  of  this  class  in  variety. 

The  remains  of  this  immense  animal,  showing  a 
frame  as  large  as  that  of  our  modem  whale,  are  com- 
paratively plentiful  in  Colorado  and  Wyoming,  from 
which  I  have  seen  and  secured  petrified  fragmentary 
specimens.  These  immense  saurians  were  more  or 
less  amphibious,  and  may  clearly  be  designated  to 
have  been  the  whales  of  the  Triassic  and  Jurassic 
periods,  showing  in  their  anatomy  the  bones  of  the 
fingers,  feet  and  arms,  and  joints  as  exhibited  to-day 
in  the  flippers  of  the  whale.  These  indicate  an  adapt- 
ability for  land  life,  once  experienced  in  the  history 
of  this  largest  animal  of  creation,  representative  of 
myriads  of  aquatic  reptiles  dwelling  upon  land. 
The  recent  discoveries  in  Italy,  California,  Nevada, 


398  Reminiscences  of 

and  Wyoming  have  resulted  in  the  generaUzing  of 
diversified  groups  of  aquatic  mammals  of  earlier  types 
in  the  mixosaurus  and  shastasaurus  class  of  reptiles, 
distinctive  links  anterior  to  the  life  of  the  mammoth 
fossilized  saurian  remains  found  in  Colorado,  to 
be  yet  further  detailed,  from  which  the  evolution 
of  the  whale  and  kindred  genera  is  readily  traced, 
as  distinctively  as  that  of  the  horse  of  the  present 
day  from  its  five-toed  ancestral  type  of  inferior 
size. 

Curiously  interesting  is  the  history  of  evolution, 
yet  but  partially  explained,  but  sufficiently  to  in- 
dicate a  great  future  advance,  though  probably  never 
to  be   fully   illustrated. 


A  NOTHER  excursion  I  made  in  1880  from  Santa  F^ 
•'^  up  to  the  Navajo  Indian  government  reservation  of 
3,000,000  acres,  situated  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
New  Mexico,  extending  into  Arizona.  This  tribe, 
formerly  a  numerous  and  powerful  one,  is  in  late 
years  reduced  to  a  few  thousand.  Comparatively 
peaceful  by  the  restrictions  of  government,  they, 
however,  break  out  occasionally  in  moderate  ravages 
from  the  restless  character  of  the  young  braves, 
but  are  held  in  good  restraint,  and  follow  a  half- 
civilized  life,  having  horses,  sheep,  goats,  and  other 
domestic  animals,  and  cultivate  small  tracts  of  land 
in  com,  beans,   and  other  vegetables. 

On  their  native  looms  they  manufacture  a  good 
many  blankets  of  various  colors,  known  as  the  Navajo, 
which  have  an  extensive  sale.  Many  of  these  are  of  fine 
texture,  and  often  sell  as  high  as  $  100  or  more.   They  are 


A  Sportsman  399 

warm  and  durable,  and  are  often  in  gay  colors  from  na- 
tive dyes,  and  are  plentifully  met  with  in  New  Mexico. 

These  Indians  are  governed  by  their  native  chiefs 
by  rude  laws  of  their  own,  and  some  are  quite  industri- 
ous, though  in  this  respect  behind  the  Pueblo  tribes,  of 
which  there  are  many,  who  are  village  dwellers  and  have 
always  been  peaceful  with  the  whites,  excepting  in  the 
general  uprising  which  drove  out  and  exterminated 
all  the  Spaniards,  their  cruel   oppressors,  in  1680. 

A  marked  degree  of  difference  is  also  observed 
between  the  Navajos  and  many  of  the  other  Indian 
tribes  upon  reservations,  located  in  the  vicinity  of  white 
settlements,  where  the  effect  of  example  is  distinctly 
e\ident  in  the  respectable  appearance  of  the  Indians. 

The  Navajos  are  still  fierce-looking,  and  cling  to 
their  old  costume  of  buckskin  leggings  and  moccasins, 
enlivened  by  the  gay-colored  government  blankets, 
which  are  much  less  dtirable  and  expensive  than 
their  own.  Their  fondness  for  ochre  pigments  is 
as  strong  as  ever,  and  is  shown  on  their  faces  gen- 
erally, and  painting  up  is  a  feature  of  observance 
upon  the  eve  of  any  visit  from  the  reservation,  or 
in  fact  any  event  out  of  the  ordinary  line. 

Could  the  history  of  this  once  warlike  tribe  be 
given,  it  would  be  one  of  great  interest,  and  give  much 
light  upon  the  early  history  of  the  vast  region  once 
occupied  as  the  scene  of  their  plundering  forays 
and  murderous  descents  upon  the  peaceful  Pueblos 
and  Mexican  settlers,  when  whole  families  and  settle- 
ments were  exterminated.  With  the  many  Apaches 
occupying  the  regions  south,  and  with  whom  the 
Navajos  were  in  perpetual  conflict,  but  were  mutual 
in   plundering  and   murdering   all   they  could  reach 


400  Reminiscences  of 

over  a  large  area  held  in  terrorism,  it  is  likely  that 
many  dark  pages  of  history  could  have  been  written 
of  Indian  savagery,  now  forgotten  in  oblivion,  and 
only  attested  by  the  ruins  of  large  community  build- 
ings, the  stone  watch-towers  upon  heights,  and  the 
deserted  habitations  of  the  cliflf-dwellers. 

After  the  declaration  of  peace  with  Mexico  in 
1847  from  which  the  United  States  acquired  its  im- 
mense western  domain,  the  ravages  of  the  Navajos 
and  Apaches  were  frequent  subjects  of  attention  by 
Congress,  and  many  detachments  of  troops  were 
required  before  the  Indians  could  be  made  to  occupy 
the  reservations  determined  for  them.  Despite  all 
efforts  of  the  government,  it  was  many  years  after 
the  Navajos  were  settled  before  the  various  tribes 
of  Apaches  were  gathered  in. 

In  making  the  excursion  to  the  Navajo  country,  I 
was  accompanied  from  Santa  F6  by  my  wife  and 
my  cousin,  Mrs.  Wood,  also  by  Captain  Slawson  and 
his  assistant,  and  one  Meyers,  who  had  induced  the 
trip  by  representations  of  valuable  copper  mines 
near  the  Indian  reservation,  which  he  claimed  to 
own.  There  are  a  great  many  kinds  of  people  in 
the  world,  a  description  of  whose  varying  peculi- 
arities would  fill  many  volumes. 

I  have  described  previously  the  character  of  Jack 
Williams,  who  lived  upon  the  credulity  of  Bebo. 
There  are  many  prototypes  of  Williams,  varying 
more  or  less  according  to  attending  situations,  from 
Williams  up  to  the  plausible  villains  who  palm  off 
bogus  gold  bricks  and  mines  without  value. 

There  seems  to  be  in  mines  a  fascination  to  many, 
which   creates   a   credulity   and   easy   confidence   not 


A  Sportsman  401 

allowed  in  the  consideration  of  other  business  sub- 
jects. The  large  advantages  gained  by  some  in 
mining,  exceptional  cases  of  success,  stimulate  the 
feeling  for  gain  beyond  the  exercise  of  sound  reason. 
Mining  interests  therefore  attract  a  class  of  adventurers 
more  plentiful  than  connected  with  other  interests. 
Many  of  these  adventurers  are  ready  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  public  in  any  manner  and  by  any 
dishonesty  they  can  Bring  to  bear,  w^hile  other  ad- 
venturers, with  a  blind  confidence  arising  from 
ill-regulated  and  inexperienced  conditions,  although 
sensible  otherwise,  will_  lead  on  men  far  superior  to 
themselves  in  acuteness,  and  involve  them  in  the  fol- 
lowing of  an  "ignis  jatuus"  phantom  which  leads  to 
mire  and  loss.  This  class  is  perhaps  more  dangerous 
than  the  first.  But  the  worst  of  all  is  the  plausible 
rogue  who  has  confidence  in  his  ignorance. 

This  Meyers  represented  an  entirely  different  type 
than  that  of  Williams,  being  a  man  of  education 
and  some  scholarly  attainments,  and  the  author  of 
some  interesting  articles  regarding  mechanical  and 
mining  appliances,  which  had  appeared  in  a  prom- 
inent mining  joirmal.  Despite  this  he  proved  to  be 
a  man  of  impracticable  ideas,  deficient  in  good  sense, 
fantastic  in  action,  and  hyperbolic  in  illustrations; 
arrogant  to  those  we  met  on  our  route,  untruthful, 
and  in  fact  a  complete  knave  whose  questionable 
actions  afterward  gave  him  several  experiences  within 
prison  walls.  He,  however,  stood  w^ell  in  the  simple 
community  where  he  resided,  excepting  with  the 
store-keepers,  and  posed  as  an  eminent  authority 
in  scientific  affairs,  and  having  a  comfortable  and 
scholarly   appearance   sustained   at  first   pretty   well 

>6 


402  Reminiscences  of 

the  good  recommendation  given  of  him  from  one 
of  the  substantial  townsmen  with  that  ready  willing- 
ness so  common  in  the  extreme  West. 

Meyers  claimed  that  he  had  acquired  an  immense 
tract  of  land  known  as  the  Nacimiento  Grant  in  per- 
fect title  from  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  govern- 
ments, ratified  in  patent  by  the  United  States,  which 
abounded  in  immense  ledges  of  sandstone,  impreg- 
nated by  nodules  and  particles  of  pure  copper,  which 
would  yield  large  profits  if  worked  by  modem  methods. 
The  presentation  was  attractive  from  a  prima  facie 
view,  and  to  some  extent  as  alluring  as  that  which 
induced  the  adventurous  Coronado  in  earlier  days 
to  traverse  the  same  region  in  search  for  the  golden 
cities  of  Cibola.  The  evidence  in  result  was  that 
the  romancing  Meyers  had  not  a  penny's  interest 
in  the  grant,  or  any  means  for  acquiring  one,  and 
the  copper  existing  in  the  ledges  was  of  such  insignifi- 
cant proportions  as  to  prove  unprofitable  even  if 
worked  over  by  the  complete  manner  followed  in 
the  Lake  Superior  regions,  where  less  than  one  per 
cent,  of  native  copper  gives  large  profits.  But  the  re- 
gion was  very  extraordinary  and  interesting,  where 
the  geological  features  were  unique  in  character. 
Once  it  had  been  the  bed  of  an  immense  lake  into 
which  had  flowed  streams  carrying  tnuiks  and 
branches  of  trees,  principally  palms.  The  water  of  the 
lake  from  some  cause  had  been  strongl}^  impreg- 
nated with  copper  in  solution,  which  saturated  the 
logs  more  or  less,  and  the  wood  became  petrified 
completely,  and  the  copper  solidified  in  the  wood 
in  a  metallic  form  in  minute  particles.  Then  a  con- 
vulsion  of   nature   occurred,    a    mighty    upheaval   of 


A  Sportsman  403 

the  bed  of  the  lake,  which  with  titanic  force  threw 
about  the  sandstone  ledges  in  a  confused  manner.  I 
saw  some  specimens  which  would  be  difficult  to  dupli- 
cate elsewhere,  of  strips  of  petrified  palms  carrying 
bright  particles  of  native  copper,  and,  more  wonder- 
ful yet,  small  running  veins  in  the  wood  of  as  bright, 
hard  anthracite  coal  as  could  be  found  anywhere. 

Our  outfit  consisted  of  a  two-seated  carr>'all  with 
a  pair  of  spirited  horses  from  a  town  stable,  driven 
by  the  proprietor,  a  Mr.  Strong,  to  carry  my  wife 
and  cousin  and  self,  with  the  driver;  in  addition  a 
common  covered  Bain  wagon  with  a  pair  of  horses, 
to  carry  Captain  Slawson  and  his  assistant  James, 
with  a  tent  and  supplies.  Mr.  Meyers  was  to  ac- 
company us  on  horseback  as  we  understood,  and  so 
started  out  from  Santa  F^,  but  presently  demurred 
when  a  few  miles  out,  saying  that  he  had  expected  we 
would  have  a  place  for  him  in  the  carriage,  which 
we  thought  at  the  time  was  unusual  for  him  to  ex- 
pect, since  he  was  supposed  to  have  more  invited 
us  upon  the  trip,  to  view  his  property  for  sale,  than 
we  had  invited  him.  But  as  he  found  so  much  fault 
from  horseback  riding,  to  which  he  claimed  he  was 
unaccustomed,  we  gave  him  a  place  in  the  wagon, 
having  his  horse  led  behind.  Presently  he  found  the 
wagon,  without  springs,  too  severe,  and  we  took  him 
in  the  carryall,  as  my  wife  volunteered  to  take  his 
place  in  the  wagon.  As  I  thought  it  over,  it  seemed 
so  unreasonable  for  an  apparently  strong  man  to 
take  the  place  of  a  woman  in  the  carriage,  I  inti- 
mated rather  strongly  that  he  should  return  to  the 
wagon.  This  he  was  compelled  to  do,  but  instead  of 
taking  the  wagon  he  mounted  his  horse  and  went  on 


404  Reminiscences  of 

ahead,  as  he  said  to  arrange  at  the  Mexican  town 
of  Pena  Blanca,  twenty-five  miles  fuii;her  ahead, 
where  we  intended  to  pass  the  night,  for  our  ac- 
commodations. That  was  the  last  we  saw  of  him 
until  the  following  morning.  When  we  arrived  there 
about  dark  we  looked  for  him  in  vain,  and  put  up 
in  two  or  three  of  the  ordinary  adobe  houses,  there 
being  no  public  house. 

In  the  morning  he  appeared  on  horseback  as  we 
were  about  startmg  away  on  our  journey,  account- 
ing for  his  non-appearance  before  by  saying  he  had 
not  been  well,  and  had  gone  to  the  house  of  a  Mex- 
ican friend  for  the  night.  We  now  commenced  a 
journey  over  a  waterless  district  of  fifty  miles  after 
fording  the  Rio  Grande,  and  it  was  necessary  to  take 
on  a  barrel  of  water  to  carry  ourselves  and  our  horses 
over,  having  a  stock  of  hay  and  grain  in  the  wagon 
with  our  other  supplies. 

We  passed  over  this  desert  in  two  days,  reaching 
the  Rio  Purco,  a  muddy  stream,  but  where  the  country 
was  more  fertile,  with  reaches  of  pine  timber  and 
pleasant  stopping  places.  The  habitations  were  few 
and  far  between,  and  we  found  the  camping  out 
preferable  to  abiding  in  any  of  the  few  adobes 
we  met  with.  The  scenery  was  attractive  in  many 
respects,  though  away  from  the  streams  and  valle}'s 
the  faces  of  the  mountains  were  barren  beyond  any 
hope  of  ever  making  fertile. 

One  prominent  mountain  height  seemed  ever  con- 
spicuous, that  of  Cabazon,  or  the  Cabbage  Head, 
which  was  the  guide  for  the  direction  we  were  to  pursue. 
This  we  finally  passed,  following  up  the  Rio  Purco, 
and  reached  the  mesa  of  the  Nacimiento  in  six  days 


A  Sportsman  405 

after  leaving  Santa  ¥6.  We  were  a  great  surprise 
and  attraction  at  the  few  Mexican  settlements  we 
passed  through,  as  no  white  woman  had  ever  been 
seen  there  before,  and  the  inhabitants,  men  and 
women,  old  and  young,  and  the  children  would  come 
about  us  as  if  we  had  been  visitors  from  another  planet. 
It  amused  us  to  tear  out  leaves  from  a  few  illustrated 
magazines  we  had  and  distribute  them  among  the 
people,  which  were  sought  for  with  the  greatest  eager- 
ness, and  the  fortunate  possessor  of  one  of  these  pages 
became  immediately  the  centre  of  a  delighted  group. 
We  met  on  several  occasions  small  bands  of  Navajos, 
looking  more  savage  than  peaceful  Indians  should. 
They  were  accompanying  small  bands  of  sheep  which 
they  were  driving  out  for  disposal  at  Mexican  towns. 
Mounted  and  dressed  in  their  buckskin  garb,  with 
gay  blankets  and  hideously  painted  faces,  with  red 
bandana  handkerchiefs  bound  about  their  heads, 
they  looked  ferocious  enough  to  pursue  the  wanton 
pastimes  of  their  ancestors. 

At  a  spring  one  day,  where  my  cousin,  Mrs.  Wood, 
was  temporarily  lingering  away  from  our  party,  she 
was  much  alarmed  by  the  approach  of  a  Navajo 
painted  brave,  who  came  on  horseback  at  some 
speed,  brandishing  a  quart  bottle  which  he  held 
by  the  neck  in  his  hand.  Espying  her  he  stopped 
and  addressed  her  in  the  mixed  dialect  of  Spanish 
and  Indian  tongue,  at  which  she  was  much  alarmed, 
but  relieved  at  the  approach  of  Captain  Slawson, 
who  explained  the  object  of  the  brave  as  being  to  have 
the  loan  of  a  drinking  cup  which  Mrs.  Wood  had 
with  her. 

Intoxicants   are   forbidden    by    law    from    being 


4o6  Reminiscences  of 

furnished  to  Indians,  but  little  attention  is  given  in 
New  Mexico  to  this,  and  the  Navajos,  though  tem- 
perate in  the  main,  have  means  of  obtaining  liquor 
when  particularly  desired,  as  indicated  by  several 
of  their  number  whom  we  saw  under  its  influence. 
Most  Indians  are  gamblers,  and  the  Navajos  are 
particularly  addicted  to  it,  and  skilful,  and  adepts 
at  cheating.  We  saw  the  success  of  one  of  these 
warriors,  at  a  Mexican  village  near  Santa  F^,  when 
on  our  return,  where  he  obtained  all  the  cash  of 
a  small  sheep-owner  and  his  flock  also,  of  some- 
thing over  a  hundred  head,  which  he  was  driving 
home  to  the  reserv'ation. 

We  had  some  adventures  in  fording  some  of  the 
small  streams  on  our  way.  At  one  of  these  fords 
our  carrj^all  as  well  as  our  wagon  stuck  in  the  mud 
so  effectually  that  we  had  to  wait  some  hours  for  a 
pair  of  oxen  to  haul  us  out.  We  had  an  amusing 
incident  with  Meyers,  the  fourth  day  out,  illustrat- 
ing one  of  the  peculiar  features  of  his  disposition 
and  make-up.  It  had  rained  in  the  night,  somewhat 
to  our  inconvenience,  and  commenced  again  in  the 
morning  as  we  were  about  to  start  on.  As  our  cuisine 
department  was  not  equipped  with  a  cook  we  had 
first  depended  upon  Hussey,  the  driver  of  our  wagon 
team,  who  had  recommended  himself  to  us  favor- 
ably in  connection  with  his  expressed  opinion  that 
he  was  high  up  in  the  line,  and  intended  to  open  a 
restaurant  in  Santa  F6  upon  his  return.  We  found 
his  work  so  wretched  in  this  particular  that  I  took 
this  department  in  hand  myself,  and  delegated  him 
to  the  dish-washing  line,  but  his  results  in  this  were 
so  unsatisfactory  that  my  wife  and  cousin  were  com- 


A  Sportsman  407 

pelled  to  take  it  on.  Meyers  had  the  quality  of  a 
great  soldier  and  worker  in  the  essential  of  a  vigorous 
appetite,  and  exhibited  a  commendable  promptness  in 
appearance  at  meal  times,  and  to  use  an  expression 
of  Hussey's  "could  bolt  four  days'  rations  at  a  single 
meal."  His  cultivated  taste  was  evinced  particularly 
in  the  selection  of  our  delicacies,  which  were  limited  for 
the  campaign.  We  had  not  called  upon  him  for  as- 
sistance in  any  particular,  nor  had  he  proffered  any. 
As  we  were  ending  our  breakfast  it  commenced  to 
sprinkle,  with  an  appearance  of  increase,  and  we 
made  haste  to  finish  up  and  take  the  shelter  of  our 
teams.  As  we  were  completing  the  dish-washing  act, 
I  asked  Meyers  if  he  would  assist  in  packing  away 
the  washed  tableware,  and  aid  in  stowing  away  the 
cases  and  baskets  in  the  wagon  which  stood  ready 
for  departure.  I  could  hardly  believe  my  senses 
when  he  declined,  and  there  was  no  time  for  dis- 
cussion at  the  moment.  At  midday,  when  we  rested 
for  the  noon  meal  and  he  stood  about  in  readiness 
for  his  usual  onset,  I  asked  if  I  could  be  sure  that 
he  had  declined  to  aid  in  loading  up  our  wagon,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  rain  that  morning;  to 
which  he  answered,  "Quite  so,"  and  that  before  coming 
to  America  he  had  solemnly  vowed  never  to  engage 
in  any  menial  labor.  I  had  pretty  well  digested  the 
matter  before  asking,  and  quietly  informed  him 
that  his  vow  was  a  most  unfortunate  one,  as  it  would 
effectually  debar  him  from  any  participation  in  our 
meal  now  preparing,  or  in  any  other  during  our  ex- 
cursion, as  we  were  doing  our  own  woi"k,  the  cooking  and 
the  cleaning  up,  hand  in  hand  in  social  union,  each 
doing  his  share,  and  quite  willing  to  do  so  in  proper 


4o8  Reminiscences  of 

appreciation,  but  I  certainly  could  not  allow  his  fur- 
ther participation  in  benefits  derived  from  our  mutual 
exertions,  which  his  claimed  superiority  of  station 
must  from  that  moment  debar  him  from.  He  re- 
ceived my  decision  in  silence,  and  mounted  his  horse 
for  a  neighboring  settlement.  I  thought  he  would 
then  probably  desert  us,  but  he  came  into  camp  at  night 
as  usual,  and  afterward  caught  up  his  meals  as  he  could 
outside  of  our  supplies,  and  accompanied  us  to  the  Nar- 
cimiento,  leaving  us  there,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  him. 


LJAVING  had  over  forty  years  of  annual  experiences 
■^  -^  about  the  Rangeley  Lake  waters  in  winter  and 
summer,  and  having  passed  several  months  in  many  of 
my  visits,  I  have  observed  some  features  about  trout 
and  animals  which  may  be  of  interest  to  fishermen,  and 
which  may  throw  some  light  upon  the  lives  of  those 
fish,  which  are  so  gamy,  beautiful  and  delectable. 

I  will  simply  give  my  experiences  and  opinions 
without  any  intention  of  entering  into  any  contro- 
versy with  other  fishermen  whose  experience,  percep- 
tiveness,  and  conclusions  may  be  different  from  or 
superior  to  my  own. 

In  referring  to  the  Rangeley  Lakes  I  include  that 
chain  of  larger  lakes  situated  in  Oxford  County,  Me., 
commencing  with  the  Rangeley,  the  Mooseluckme- 
guntic,  the  two  Richardsons,  and  the  Umbagog,  with 
the  adjoining  and  connecting  small  lakes  and  ponds. 
The  large  lakes  mentioned  comprise  a  surface  area  of 
eighty  square  miles,  and  the  principal  tributary  lakes 
and  ponds,  more  than  thirty  in  number,  comprise  an 
equal  surface  area,  or  a  total  of  i6o  square  miles. 


A  Sportsman  409 

The  drainage  area  tributary'  to  the  system  com- 
prises over  3000  square  miles,  which  is  almost  en- 
tirely forest.  The  average  precipitation  of  rain,  which 
includes  that  from  melting  snow,  is  estimated  at  42 
inches.  The  altitude  above  tide  water  varies  from 
1200  feet  to  1600  feet. 

The  Rangeley  waters  are  all  well  stocked  with  trout, 
excepting  the  Umbagog,  the  lower  lake  (partly  in 
New  Hampshire),  which  a  dozen  years  ago  was  found  to 
contain  pickerel,  and  these  have  been  disastrous  to  the 
trout,  and  in  consequence  have  thinned  out  the  greater 
proportion  of  the  small  fish,  although  some  quite  large 
ones  are  now  occasionally  caught.  I  have  heard  of 
several  being  caught  weighing  from  eight  to  nine 
pounds.  In  winters,  until  the  railroad  was  com- 
pleted to  Bemis  lately,  it  was  difficult  to  get  at  the 
principal  lakes,  excepting  Rangeley  Lake  proper,  which 
adjoins  the  small  town  of  Rangeley,  and  there  are  no 
settlements  or  towns  adjoining  the  big  lake  or  the 
smaller  lakes  or  the  Richardsons,  excepting  the  town 
of  Andover,  which  is  twelve  miles  from  the  head  of  the 
lower  Richardson,  and  which  is  connected  by  a  road 
so  little  used  in  the  winter  that  I  formerly  had  to  get  it 
broken  out  for  my  party,  and  have  sometimes  had  to  go 
to  the  expense  of  S40  or  S50  to  do  so. 

In  one  instance,  a  number  of  years  ago,  five  feet  of 
snow  fell  while  I  was  at  the  lake,  and  drifted  so  badly 
that  I  had  to  snow-shoe  my  way  out  with  a  com- 
panion over  the  mountains,  twenty-two  miles  (we  being 
up  the  lake  twelve  miles),  which  required  our  almost 
constant  exertions  for  seventeen  hours,  leaving  at  6 
A.M.  and  arriving  out  at  Andover  at  11  p.m.  In  one 
instance  we  were  two  days  in  getting  over  the  road 


4IO  Reminiscences  of 

from  Andover,  twelve  miles  to  the  arm  of  the  lake, 
although  we  had  two  stout  teams,  but  had  to  shovel 
and  tramp  through  heavy  drifts  of  snow,  and  were 
compelled  to  camp  over  night  on  the  road.  Several 
other  times  I  have  been  compelled  to  camp  at  the 
arm  of  the  lake  by  having  the  ice  break  up  after  it  had 
frozen,  and  in  one  instance  I  had  to  wait  a  week  at  the 
arm  for  the  ice  to  form  sufficiently  strong  to  get  over. 
In  fact  I  have  had  quite  a  number  of  adventures 
in  getting  up  to  camp  on  the  Upper  Richardson  Lake 
over  the  ice  in  the  winter,  and  especially  since  the 
comparatively  late  law  on  deer  shooting,  which  ends 
the  season  on  December  15. 

To  get  the  December  shooting  about  the  lakes  is  diffi- 
cult, as  one  must  get  up  the  lake  by  boats,  or  on  the  ice. 

From  the  middle  of  November  the  ice  generally 
makes  about  the  shores,  making  it  difficult  to  get  boats 
in  or  out,  and  very  seldom  does  the  ice  hold  after  its 
first  freezing  over,  although  it  may  get  an  inch  or  two 
thick,  and  sometimes  it  breaks  up  when  it  is  three 
inches  thick  from  the  sea  made  by  a  high  wind  on  open 
places.  The  open  places  will  grow  larger,  and  some- 
times will  break  up  the  entire  lake  surface;  at  other 
times  it  will  open  in  three  or  iouv  or  more  parts,  while 
the  parts  left  closed  will  accumulate  ice  to  the  thickness 
of  seven  or  eight  inches,  and  at  such  times  one  must 
haul  a  boat  over  the  frozen  portions  and  row  through 
the  open  ones. 

The  lake  generally  freezes  up  from  the  loth  to  the 
15th  of  December,  wholly,  or  sufficiently  so  to  pass 
teams  over.  Parts  of  the  lake  in  the  vicinity  of  springs 
or  currents  will  continue  weak  at  all  times  in  the 
winter,  and  it  is  not  very  uncommon  to  break  in  with 


A  Sportsman  4'  i 

horses,  though  they  are  generally  hauled  out  safely, 
owing  to  the  firm  ice  which  adjoins  the  soft  parts.  The 
weak  parts  are  pretty  well  known  however,  and  avoided. 

While  the  cold  in  the  winter,  as  indicated  by  the 
thermometer,would  seem  extreme,  it  is  not  particularly 
severe  to  those  who  come  well  prepared  and  have  a 
comfortable  camp,  for  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere 
militates  against  the  effect  of  the  cold  in  a  most  favor- 
able manner.  That  chilliness  and  bone-penetrating 
cold  which  one  experiences  even  in  moderate  weather 
on  our  eastern  or  western  seaboard,  is  little  felt  at  the 
lakes  in  the  winter;  and,  familiar  as  I  am  with  many 
climes,  I  will  say  that  I  have  suffered  more  from  cold, 
which  my  memor}^  vividly  reminds  me  of,  south  of 
Washington  and  amid  the  orange-ripening  localities 
of  California,  than  I  have  in  all  my  experiences  in 
winter  at  the  Rangeley  Lakes. 

Yet  during  my  excursion  here  in  the  winter  of  1890 
and  1 89 1  the  self -registering  thermometer  in  front 
of  camp  indicated  for  thirteen  consecutive  mornings 
an  average  of  8  degrees  below  zero,  the  warmest, 
lowest  marking  being  26  degrees  below,  and  the  warm- 
est morning  being  12  above.  That  was  an  extremely 
cold  spell,  as  noted  by  the  usually  reliable  oldest 
resident  in  the  country,  who  had  no  remembrance  of 
so  cold  a  period  in  forty  years. 

One  of  our  family  trips  made  in  1895,  was  particu- 
larly pleasant,  and  not  far  behind  1890  in  cold; 
yet  no  day  at  the  lake  was  too  cold  for  the  children 
of  our  party  to  be  out  snow-shoeing,  skating,  and 
tobogganing. 

Our  trip  was  not  made  for  shooting  or  fishing,  as  we 
arrived  on  the  last  day  of  the  open  shooting,  December 


412  Reminiscences  of 

31,  and  we  were  strict  observers  of  the  game  laws.  We 
came  to  enjoy  the  cold  bracing  weather,  to  enjoy  the 
sports  of  winter,  and  to  view  the  beautiful  ice-bound 
lakes  and  the  forest  and  mountains ;  to  witness  the  dark 
and  purple  hues  of  the  fringing  woods,  and  of  the  dis- 
tant ravines;  to  observe  the  countless  minor  features 
incidental  to  the  season  at  the  lakes,  of  which  a  re- 
counting would  be  tiresome  perhaps,  but  of  constant 
note  and  attention  to  all  lovers  of  the  woods  and  waters. 
The  woods  and  waters  are  always  fascinating,  be  it 
winter  or  summer,  the  former  equal  to  the  latter — the 
woods  in  their  dark  green  or  with  their  coatings  of 
white,  the  water  delightful  with  its  calm  and  changing 
surface,  or  clasped  with  mantles  of  ice  or  snow.  This 
is  the  sanitarium  for  many  invalids,  while  enervating 
warm  climates  are  pernicious.  Here  will  be  found 
the  enemy  of  insomnia,  here  the  stimulator  of  appetite 
and  the  true  pepsin  of  digestion,  here  the  conqueror  of 
ennui  and  care. 

Our  party  of  nine,  four  being  children  and  two 
ladies,  exclusive  of  guides  and  assistants,  came  in  safely 
from  Andover,  Maine,  on  the  last  day  of  the  year. 
We  were  held  up  two  days  at  that  town  by  the  gen- 
eral blizzard,  which  coming  from  the  west  gave  the 
New  England  coast  a  cold  blocking  storm.  The  weather 
during  the  two  days  at  Andover  was  simply  howling,  the 
mercury  holding  obstinately  below  zero,  and  the  air  most 
of  the  time  filled  with  cyclonic  whirls  of  snow.  But  we 
were  comfortable  at  French's  Hotel.  On  the  morning 
of  the  31st  it  was  still  and  clear,  with  the  thermometer 
18  degrees  below  zero,  and  it  held  below  zero  all  day, 
closing  at  sundown  at  10  below  and  opening  the 
following  morning  at  camp  22  below. 


A  Sportsman  413 

The  trip  of  twenty-two  miles  through  the  woods  and 
nine  miles  up  the  Richardson  lakes  was  entirely  com- 
fortable and  free  from  touches  of  King  Frost.  It  was 
slow  going,  however,  from  the  necessity  of  breaking 
out  the  road  and  testing  the  ice,  consuming  four  hours, 
including  the  stop  of  an  hovir  and  a  half  midway  for 
lunch  and  warming  up  at  the  foot  of  the  lake. 

During  our  stay  of  two  weeks  we  had  but  few 
mornings  when  the  lowest  marking  of  the  ther- 
mometer was  above  zero.  On  January  5  three  of 
our  party  left  to  meet  friends  at  Montreal.  The 
marking  of  the  thermometer  was  14  degrees  below 
zero  at  their  time  of  leaving,  ten  o'clock,  for  Andover, 
and  closing  at  night  8  degrees  below,  but  the  trip  was 
made  without  any  discomfort  whatever.  The  night  of 
January'  4  was  the  coldest  of  any,  there  being  a  perfect 
gale  of  wind  from  the  northwest  all  through  the  night, 
with  the  thermometer  18  degrees  below  zero,  but  the 
morning  opened  still  and  clear,  and  comfortable 
enough. 

A  gale  of  wind  with  the  thermometer  nearly  20 
degrees  below  zero  constitutes  unmistakably  a  bliz- 
zard, which  would  be  fatal  to  hvunan  life  vmless  some- 
what protected  from  its  fury.  In  our  case,  although 
the  camp  was  openly  exposed  upon  the  lake  shore  to 
the  full  blast,  we  experienced  no  inconvenience.  With 
double  windows  and  large  fireplaces  in  ever}'  room, 
filled  to  repletion  with  consuming  birch  and  maple 
we  were  hardly  conscious  of  the  extreme  cold  outside, 
and  passed  the  evening  in  witnessing  the  theatrical 
entertainment  given  by  the  children.  To  be  sure,  the 
cold  gale  was  searching,  and,  despite  the  fires  con- 
tinued  through   the   night,    it   found   out   the   water 


414  Reminiscences  of 

pitchers  in  remote  comers,  and  glazed  them  over  with 
its  imprint. 

The  night  was  a  comfortable  one,  for  a  slight  freezing 
in  one  part  of  a  room  with  a  glowing  fire  in  another  part 
carmot  be  otherwise  than  comfortable  in  a  dry  air,  to  a 
well  clad  and  well  nourished  mortal.  Still  the  contrast 
was  striking  between  the  blizzard  of  the  night  and 
the  still  air  of  i8  degrees  below  in  the  morning.  It 
seemed  hardly  necessary  to  wrap  up  for  snow-shoeing. 

I  would  account  a  still  clear  cold  of  60  or  70  degrees 
below  zero  to  be  far  more  comfortable  than  a  gale 
of  wind  having  a  velocity  of  twenty  miles  an  hour 
with  the  mercury  at  15  or  20  degrees  below  zero.  The 
first  could  be  endured  very  comfortably  in  an  ordi- 
narily well  protected  apartment  before  a  glowing  fire, 
but  the  latter  has  a  searching  power,  which  insinu- 
ates itself  through  the  slightest  crevices  of  the  doors, 
windows,  and  floors,  and  of  penetrating,  when  one  is 
exposed  to  it,  all  the  clothing  one  can  put  on.  A  mod- 
erate head  wind  at  zero  is  far  more  biting  than  still 
cold  at  30  degrees  below.  In  fact  no  one  but  an  Esqui- 
mau or  the  exceptional  man  can  endure  the  facing 
of  a  gale  at  20  degrees  below  zero,  with  any  part  of 
his  face  exposed,  for  more  than  a  few  minutes,  for  the 
white  frosting  will  form  on  the  skin  almost  imme- 
diately, and  with  double  veiling  the  eyelids  will  soon 
glue  together,  and  a  glazing  of  ice  will  form  over  the 
mouth  and  nostrils.  The  face  would  freeze  so  quickly 
that  one  would  hardly  be  aware  of  it,  as  it  would  be 
comparatively  painless. 

I  was  snow-shoeing  in  the  afternoon  before  the 
blizzard  came  on. 

The  morning  had  opened   22   degrees   above  zero 


I 


A  Sportsman  415 

not  very  cold,  but  began  to  drop  steadily  after  ten 
o'clock.  I  had  crossed  the  lake  with  my  son  Vin- 
cent, to  enjoy  our  lunch  by  a  fire  built  upon  the 
opposite  shore,  perhaps  two  miles  from  camp.  I 
observed  that  the  sun  had  a  peculiar  cold  aspect 
and  that  the  air  was  filled  with  countless  particles 
of  snow,  which  although  as  minute  as  diamond 
dust  flashed  and  scintillated  in  the  sunlight,  a 
sure  indication  of  intense  frost.  The  tiny  flashing 
crystals  came  from  the  moisture  in  the  air,  for  the  sky 
was  cloudless,  although  tinted  with  an  ominous  hue 
which  indicated  some  change  from  the  quiet  of  the 
previous  few  days.  I  deemed  it  prudent  to  retrace 
our  steps  to  camp,  for  the  winter's  short  day  was  draw- 
ing to  a  close.  When  half  way  across  the  lake 
we  observed  from  the  upper  end  approaching  eddies 
of  whirling  snow,  and  before  we  reached  the  camp  they 
were  about  us,  the  sun  had  disappeared  and  the 
whole  sky  had  become  obscured  from  our  sight  by 
the  driving  flurries.  The  blizzard  which  lasted  through 
the  entire  night  had  commenced.  The  wind  fortu- 
nately was  at  our  backs,  and  with  well  hooded  faces  we 
experienced  no  inconvenience.  The  air  was  so  clouded 
with  snow  about  us  that  no  lake  shores  were  visible ; 
and  only  from  our  old  snow-shoe  tracks,  not  entirely 
obliterated,  could  we  find  our  way  correctly. 

It  was  four  o'clock,  about  sundown,  when  we  reached 
camp.  The  thermometer  indicated  10  degrees  below 
zero.  Before  six  o'clock  the  mercury  fell  to  18  degrees 
below,  where  it  remained  all  night,  accompanied  by 
howling  bursts  of  wind  which  seemed  bent  on  forcing 
in  windows  and  doors.  But  the  fury  of  the  gale  was 
lost  upon  us,  and  the  morning  opened  quiet  and  serene, 


4' 6  Reminiscences  of 

and  seemed  moderate  in  its  still  coolness  of  i8  degrees 
below. 

A  few  days  after  this  blizzard  we  learned  that  an 
vmfortunate  visitor  at  the  big  lake  two  miles  above  us 
(the  Mooseluckmeguntic)  had  been  caught  out  in  it 
and  very  nearly  lost  his  life.  Alone  and  on  foot  he 
attempted  the  passage  of  eight  miles  from  Haines 
Landing  to  the  Upper  Dam,  and  when  overtaken  by 
the  whirling  clouds  of  snow,  which  hid  the  shores, 
lost  his  bearings. 

He  could  not  face  the  gale  and  drifted  with  it  until 
he  reached  the  shore,  a  long  way  from  his  course.  Here, 
after  passing  into  the  forest  a  bit,  and  getting  some 
shelter,  he  succeeded  in  building  a  fire,  which  saved 
his  life.  His  ears,  hands,  and  feet  were  half  frozen. 
In  the  morning  he  found  he  was  near  the  closed  camps 
of  Capt.  Barker  at  Bemis  Stream,  four  miles  out  of  his 
course.  He  was  unable  to  proceed  further,  still  being 
eight  miles  from  the  Upper  Dam.  He  broke  open  one 
of  the  camps,  where  he  found  plenty  of  firewood,  but 
nothing  to  eat,  and  remained  two  days  without  food. 
He  then  made  his  way  to  the  Upper  Dam,  eight  miles 
distant,  where  he  arrived,  though  he  fell  seiiseless  on 
the  ice  when  within  half  a  mile,  but  was  observed  and 
brought  in  and  finally  fully  recovered,  though  left  in 
a  very  bad  condition — as  from  freezing  the  flesh 
sloughed  off  from  his  hands  and  feet,  and  all  his  fiinger- 
and  toe-nails — yet  he  still  visits  the  lake. 

In  1900  I  came  to  camp  on  Thanksgiving  day  from 
Bemis  on  the  Great  Lake,  with  my  son  Vincent 
and  a  friend. 

It  was  eight  miles  from  Bemis  across  the  lake  to  the 
Upper  Dam  on  our  route,  and  two  miles  from  there  to 


A  Sportsman  4^7 

camp.  The  temperature  was  at  zero,  and  the  big 
lake  was  almost  entirely  frozen  over  with  a  thin  ice. 
We  had  a  fine  time,  with  a  stiff  gale  blowing  in  the 
direction  we  were  going,  with  two  boats  breaking  our 
way  through  it,  doing  so  for  nearly  all  the  distance  with 
hea\y  tree  boughs  from  the  boats,  but  found  the  ice, 
when  within  a  mile  of  the  dam  too  strong  to  break. 
At  this  we  landed  on  the  shore,  and  finished  the  last 
distance  through  three  feet  of  unbroken  snow,  which 
was  slow  work.  The  lower  lake  was  comparatively  free 
from  ice,  which  we  finished  with  boat,  arriving  at  camp 
soon  after  dark.  Two  weeks  after  our  arrival  we  had  a 
severe  blizzard,  the  9th  of  December.  On  that  morning 
the  thermometer  stood  at  24  degrees  above.  I  noted 
then  that  the  barometer  had  fallen  very  low — ^lower 
than  I  have  seen  it  for  some  years,  excepting  that  year, 
September  13th,  when  the  remnant  of  the  Texas  hurri- 
cane which  destroyed  Galveston  reached  the  lake, 
lashing  the  water  into  great  fury.  Then  the  ther- 
mometer sank  rapidly  in  a  severe  gale  from  the  north- 
west, with  flying  clouds  of  snow,  and  by  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening  was  down  to  10  degrees  below  zero,  and 
finally  reached  17  degrees  below,  when  the  gale 
from  the  northwest  increased  with  great  force,  and 
continued  throughout  the  whole  night.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  loth  the  thermometer  exhibited  13  degrees 
below  zero,  with  the  gale  moderated  but  still  strong. 
By  ten  o'clock  the  thermometer  was  up  to  9  degrees 
below,  but  remained  below  zero  all  day,  but  we  put 
in  half  an  hour  skating  on  the  new  glare  ice,  which  was 
quite  sufficient  for  us.  We  secured  three  deer  upon 
this  excursion. 

The  trout  of  the  Rangeley  waters,    designated  as 


4i8  Reminiscences  of 

the  Salvelinus  fontinalis,  are  the  true  speckled,  car- 
mine-spotted, and  of  the  highest  type  in  game  quahties 
and  flavor  of  any  which  inhabit  any  waters,  excepting 
those  of  a  kindred  character,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to 
find  any  other  waters  of  equally  favorable  characteris- 
tics. I  say  without  prejudice,  having  taken  trout  from 
some  forty  different  localities  in  the  State  of  Maine  and 
in  many  other  States  in  the  Union,  as  well  as  in  foreign 
countries,  that  the  Rangeley  Lakes  trout  altogether  are 
of  finer  form,  color,  and  flavor  than  those  of  any  other 
waters  I  know  of,  while  for  average  size  they  surpass 
any  of  their  class.  Take  them  at  any  month  of  the 
year,  they  are  fat  and  deliciously  flavored.  There 
wUl  not  be  one  in  a  hundred  which  from  age  or  disease 
is  out  of  condition  for  food,  although  I  will  except 
the  spendthrift  milter,  in  the  late  autumn ;  for,  though 
arrayed  in  his  most  brilliant  intensified  suit  of  scarlet 
waistcoat  with  dark  trimmings,  mottled  coat,  spangled 
sides,  and  white  and  black  leggings,  he  has  a  sin- 
uousness  and  a  lacking  of  flavor  which  should  give 
him  liberty  and  an  opportunity  for  recuperation.  I 
wUl  not,  however,  except  the  full  spawner,  which, 
owing  to  high  feed,  remains  in  good  condition,  deteri- 
orating somewhat  at  the  tennination  of  the  spawning 
period,  from  which,  however,  a  speedy  recovery  is 
made. 

The  opinion  that  pure  water  of  crystal  clearness  is 
essential  to  the  perfect  existence  of  trout  is  not  sus- 
tained by  the  condition  at  the  Rangeley  waters.  Owing 
to  the  densely  wooded  country  about,  and  the  ex- 
cessive precipitations  of  moisture,  and  the  constant 
forest  leaching  which  occiirs,  all  the  waters  with  a 
very  few  limited  exceptions  are  somewhat  opaque. 


A  Sportsman  419 

having  a  yellowish  tinge,  which  indicates  the  im- 
pregnating effect  of  the  abundant  adjoining  plant 
life.  This  vegetable  stain  has  its  sequence  in  the 
furnishing  of  the  first  source  of  trout  existence  by 
the  apparent  spontaneous  prodigality  of  infusorial 
life.  This  is  clearly  evident  without  microscopic  aid, 
and  throughout  the  waters,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
is  plainly  evident  to  the  unassisted  eye.  This  is  the 
primary  constituent  essential  to  young  fish  life.  The 
young  trout  or  salmon,  when  relieved  of  the  umbilical 
sac,  is  of  minute  proportion,  and  is  unable  to  live  upon 
the  surface  ephemera  or  food  of  after  life,  and  subsists 
wholly  upon  the  infusoria,  as  do  all  the  small  fry  gen- 
erally designated  as  minnows,  of  which  there  are  a 
dozen  varieties  in  the  Rangeley  waters.  It  is  also  the 
principal  food  of  the  fresh- water  smelts.  The  profusion 
of  small  fish  in  the  lakes  supplying  the  principal  food  of 
the  trout  and  salmon  accounts  for  their  number  and 
superiority,  without  which  they  would  be  lacking,  so 
that  in  reality  the  primitive  cause  is  the  infusorial 
element.  This  element  abounds  in  all  ponds,  lakes, 
rivers,  and  even  ditches  where  decaying  vegetable  and 
animal  matter  exists,  and  in  countless  profusion.  It  is 
fovmd  in  thermal  springs,  and  rivulets  flowing  from 
snow-banks  and  glaciers,  and  in  salt  as  well  as  fresh 
water.  No  form  of  life  can  be  more  universal  and  ex- 
tensive, while  of  so  minute  a  character  in  the  sea,  and 
in  many  fresh  waters,  as  to  require  the  strongest  magni- 
fying power  to  clearly  observe.  Even  distilled  water, 
upon  exposure  to  the  air,  will  exhibit  the  life.  Freezing 
does  not  destroy  it,  nor  will  a  deprivation  of  its  watery 
element.  It  may  be  dried  in  the  sun  for  many  days, 
but  its  germ  form  when  drifted  with  the  dust  to  reviving 


420  Reminiscences  of 

waters  will  again  take  on  active  life.  Ehrenberg,  a 
celebrated  German  authority  upon  the  subject,  esti- 
mates the  reproductive  capacity  of  a  single  one  to  ex- 
ceed 200,000,000  in  the  space  of  a  month.  The  variety 
of  the  infusoria  is  extensive,  more  than  a  hundred 
being  classified. 

The  Poligastrica  and  Rotatoria,  two  prominent 
species  of  the  infusoria,  are  white,  pulpy  substances, 
some  of  which  are  of  pinhead  size.  Through  the 
winter  ice  over  a  clear  sandy  bottom,  with  a  thin 
blanket  head  cover,  which  by  no  means  excludes  the 
light,  one  obtains  abundant  opportunity  to  observe 
that  the  white  specks,  at  first  mistaken  for  pollen 
or  other  foreign  intrusion,  have  a  motion  equal 
to  several  inches  in  a  short  time,  and  can  be  ob- 
served in  the  still  water  moving  in  various  directions, 
some  apparently  with  a  revolving  motion,  and  others 
without  visible  action.  Many  have  advanced  the  spon- 
taneity or  protoplasm  theory  concerning  the  pro- 
tozoa, which  is  a  subject  of  much  discussion,  and 
lately  a  prominent  German  savant  has  advanced  the 
theory  that  this  element  is  the  primitive  origin  of  all 
life — vegetable  and  animal — which  now  exists  upon 
the  earth.  A  somewhat  startling  theory,  but  that  life 
must  necessarily  have  started  upon  this  once  molten 
mass  in  a  very  primitive  form  is  clearly  evident;  but 
how,  may  or  may  not  be  solved. 

Trout  are  not  migratory  in  their  habits,  although  in 
exceptional  instances  when  disappointed  in  love  affairs 
and  driven  away  by  successful  rivals,  or  from  a  natural 
excess  of  love  adventure  or  physical  disturbances,  will 
roam  about,  and  oftentimes  in  such  cases  will  take 
extended  departures;  otherwise  they  will  frequent  the 


A  Sportsman  421 

same  feeding  grounds,  although  taking  their  spring 
and  autumnal  outings.  We  all  know  of  the  particular 
fellows  which  are  found  year  after  year  in  the  same 
deep  pools  and  by  the  steep  rocks,  which  so  long  bid 
defiance  to  human  art,  but  which  finally  yield  up  their 
liberties  and  lives  to  their  unconquerable  taste  for 
the  insidious  fly. 

For  }-ears  after  years  I  have  seen  trout,  so  marked 
by  their  size  or  peculiarities  as  to  be  unmistakable, 
come  annually  to  the  same  spots  and  defy  all  fair  efforts 
against  their  privileges.  In  vain  are  the  most  dainty 
flies  of  all  colors  and  sizes  flaunted  in  the  air,  and  ripple- 
kissed,  on  surface  and  beneath,  live  bait,  fat  worms,  and 
other  delectable  morsels.  And  these  large  fellows 
do  not,  any  more  than  their  lusty  prototypes,  when 
they  have  once  taken  possession  of  a  first  class 
domicile,  allow  of  the  invasion  by  other  trout 
of  their  habitation,  unless  ousted  b}'-  superior  prow- 
ess. This  occurs  often  in  the  season  of  amatory 
dalliance,  when  two  are  considered  sufficient  com- 
pany, and  when  eternal  vigilance  is  found  to  be  an 
essential  of  satisfactory  housekeeping,  and  where 
robbers  and  tramps  have  to  be  continually  chased 
and  banged  at. 

Nothing  can  be  more  comical  and  amusing  than  to 
witness  the  watchfulness  and  incessant  unrest  of  a 
worthy  burgher  of  mature  years,  who  has  taken  unto 
himself  a  helpmate  to  regulate  the  domestic  routine 
of  his  establishment,  and  to  whom  he  has  promised 
immunity  from  outside  prowlers  and  sneak  thieves: 
good-natured  fellow,  who  has  grown  corpulent  and 
high-colored  from  numberless  golden  chubs,  striped 
minnows,    and   viscous    suckers,    which   his   vigorous 


422  Reminiscences  of 

activity  has  secured.  Now  will  he  forth  for  a  season 
in  a  more  highly  oxygenized  element;  he  will  hie  for 
the  rushing  waters,  and  promenade  among  the  belles 
of  the  high  world.  So  dressing  himself  in  his  gayest 
colors  of  red,  white  and  orange,  with  many  delicate 
tinted  shades  and  sheens,  and  touching  up  his  car- 
mine spots,  he  sallies  forth  on  a  rollicking  tour,  which 
leads  to  speedy  subjugation.  No  lover  can  be  more 
complacent  and  attentive  than  he,  none  more  willing 
to  shoulder  the  matrimonial  noose,  or  more  fiercely 
jealous  of  the  intrusion  of  others.  It  is  amusing  when 
mated  to  witness  his  torturing  anxiety  at  the  approach 
of  other  trout,  and  his  inhospitable  reception  of  them, 
which  is  indicated  by  his  advance  toward  them  with 
open  mouth.  The  small  trout  and  chubs  cause  him 
no  end  of  trouble,  and  he  has  no  rest  night  or  day.  No 
sooner  does  his  mate  indicate  her  intention  of  de- 
positing an  egg,  by  her  movements  before  the  deposit, 
than  several  active  chubs  and  small  trout  appear  on 
each  side  eager  for  the  delicate  morsel,  and  while  those 
on  one  side  are  dispersed,  another  daring  rogue  from 
the  other  side  rushes  in  and  secures  the  prize ;  and  thus 
it  goes  on  in  particular  instances  throughout  the 
spawning  season,  and  it  may  be  doubted  if  a  single  egg 
escapes  to  a  hatching  on  some  spawning  beds.  This 
destruction  of  eggs  by  trout  themselves  is  a  very  serious 
evil,  and  is  shared  in  by  chubs  and  suckers,  and  the 
attending  male  is  often  charged  with  a  taste  in  that 
direction,  and  often  when  caught  about  the  spawn- 
ing bed  is  found  with  spawTi  in  its  stomach.  I 
incline  to  doubt,  however,  if  the  full-charged  and  dis- 
pensing milter  is  guilty  of  this  action,  and  probably 
not  in  the  last  stages  of  amatory  play,  as  he  is  then 


A  Sportsman  423 

very  thin  and  fiat.with  most  intensified  colors,  and  when 
so  caught  has  almost  invariably  an  empty  stomach. 

I  have  obsen'ed  the  spawning  trout  on  the  beds 
a  great  many  times,  about  the  shores  of  the  lakes 
and  ponds,  in  the  late  autumn  on  clear,  still 
days,  and  in  November  and  December  through  the 
ice.  The  latter  observation  is  the  most  satisfac- 
tory, and  is  obtained  by  cutting  a  hole  a  foot  or 
two  square  through  over  the  spawning  beds,  which 
may  be  but  two  or  three  feet  below  the  surface.  By 
placing  a  blanket  or  two  on  the  ice  for  reclining  upon, 
and  by  placing  another  over  the  head,  shutting  out 
the  immediate  light,  the  trout  can  be  observed  in 
full  play.  The  distiirbance  occasioned  by  cutting  and 
clearing  out  the  hole  is  over  in  a  few  minutes,  and  the 
trout  below  soon  become  entirely  fearless.  On  some 
beds  the  spawners  seem  to  be  without  particular  mates, 
having  a  half-dozen  or  more  cavaliers  in  attendance, 
whose  amatory  distractions  donot  seem  to  interfere  with 
their  appetites,  and  who  indiscriminately  make  a  grand 
rush  for  the  eggs  as  soon  as  deposited,  and  it  may  be  that 
there  are  several  spawning  heaps  or  beds  immediately 
adjoining  and  half  a  dozen  spawners  at  work,  attended 
by  a  dozen  or  more  males,  who  apparently  secure  every 
egg  for  digestion.  I  have  sometimes  seen  fifty  and  even  a 
hundred  trout  thus  congregated  in  an  area  not  over  10  ft- 
square,  and  in  such  close  proximity  that  there  was  hard- 
ly any  intervening  space  between  them.  The  spawning 
beds  are  generally  composed  of  a  slightly  raised  mound  of 
gravel  two  or  three  feet  in  diameter ;  sometimes  the  beds 
are  on  the  clean  sands,  without  any  coarse  gravel  what- 
ever; sometimes  among  pebbles  and  a  bottom  grass. 

The  spawning  beds  often  receive  a  hard  scouring  for 


424  Reminiscences  of 

eggs  after  the  spawning  season  is  over.  It  is  not  un- 
common in  the  late  autumn  before  the  ice  makes  over 
the  deserted  beds,  near  the  shore,  to  find  half  a  dozen 
speckled  chaps  digging  over  the  bed  for  some  egg 
which  may  have  escaped  observation.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  see  them  digging  into  the  beds  from  a 
horizontal  position  with  their  heads  down  and  their 
tails  flapping  above  the  water  surface,  which  occasions 
the  first  observation.  Last  of  all  comes  the  Chinaman 
of  the  lake,  the  sucker,  who  works  patiently  at  lower 
wages  than  the  dominant  race,  who  with  his  porcine 
snout  makes  havoc  with  the  bed,  and  fairly  roots  it 
apart  for  the  last  lingering  morsel  which  remains. 

Probably  nine-tenths  of  the  Rangeley  trout  spawn 
in  still  water,  where  a  moderate  freshening  occurs  from 
springs.  The  same  quarters  will  be  occupied  year  after 
year,  unless  physical  changes  occur. 

Nearly  all  the  trout  spawn  between  the  middle  of 
September  and  the  middle  of  December,  although  excep- 
tional cases  occur  throughout  the  year,  and  there  is  no 
time  during  the  year  but  what  trout  can  be  found  in 
spawn  in  a  fonn  of  more  or  less  development.  I  have 
observed  them  through  the  ice  spawning  well  into  Janu- 
ary, and  not  very  long  ago  I  caught  a  7 -pounder  in  the 
first  part  of  August  which  was  full  of  ripe  spawn,  and 
dripping.  This  fish  was  caught  at  a  depth  of  about  30  ft. 
on  a  slow  troll,  with  a  heavy  sinker,  with  a  No.  2  fly.  I 
know  of  a  good  many  spawning  beds  about  the  lake 
and  ponds  where  after  the  ice  first  freezes  over  I  have 
taken  much  interest  in  regarding  the  trout  below. 
One  of  these,  situated  opposite  a  landing  at  one  of  my 
adjunctive  camps  on  a  pond,  I  had  an  amusing  incident 
when  accompanied  by  an  enthusiastic  friend  and  sports- 


A  Sportsman  425 

man,  Col.  H.  C.  Nutt,  one  season  after  the  ice  had 
freshly  made.  We  had  skated  up  the  lake  five  miles 
to  take  our  lunch  there.  The  Colonel  regretted  the 
passing  of  the  fly-fishing  season,  of  which  he  was  an 
ardent  votary.  I  said,  "Well,  you  shall  have  some  if 
you  want."  He  said  that  that  was  not  possible,  as  the 
waters  were  frozen  over.  I  rejoined,  "Nevertheless, 
you  shall  have  some. ' '  He  was  incredulous,  and  offered 
to  wager  that  he  could  not.  "Very  well,"  said  I, 
"but  I  don't  want  to  win  your  money  on  a  sure  thing; 
but  I  will  wager  you  a  big  cigar  or  a  box  of  cabman's 
thirds  that  I  will  take  a  trout  with  a  fly  right  here  from 
the  platform  in  front,  and  put  him  in  your  hands  within 
five  minutes  from  the  time  I  commence  fishing." 
This  offer  was  taken.  I  then  had  my  man  go  in  front 
with  an  axe  and  break  up  the  ice,  which  was  between 
2  and  3  inches  thick,  over  a  space  of  10  by  15 
feet.  Then  we  put  in  a  boat  from  an  adjoining 
cover  and  rocked  it  in  a  violent  manner,  driving 
the  ice  out  of  the  broken  place,  some  over  the  ice  and 
some  under.  We  then  went  in  for  lunch  half  an  hour, 
and  after  I  reached  down  a  fly-rod,  equipped,  from 
over  the  door  and  cast,  the  Colonel  standing 
with  his  watch  in  hand.  On  the  first  cast  my  trout 
struck,  and  in  three  minutes  from  the  start  I  placed 
a  third-of-a-pound  trout  in  the  Colonel's  hands.  I  let 
the  Colonel  go  on  then,  and  he  caught  with  his  plain 
fly  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  trout  in  a  short  time. 
The  water  where  we  fished  was  not  over  3  or  4  feet  deep. 
The  trout  were  of  moderate  size,  the  largest  not  being 
over  half  a  pound.  The  spot  I  had  long  known  as  a 
favorite  spawning  ground  for  small  trout,  and  perhaps 
over  a  hundred  were  left  there. 


426  Reminiscences  of 

I  think  the  trout  in  the  Rangeley  Lakes,  excepting 
the  Umbagog,  are  abovit  as  plentiful  as  ever,  although 
the  raising  of  the  waters  has  changed  their  spring  and 
autumnal  habitats  a  good  deal,  and  some  of  the  old 
fishing  places  are  of  the  past.  Trout  Cove  in  the  large 
lake  above  the  Upper  Dam  was  a  spring  fishing  place 
for  a  period  of  ten  or  fifteen  days,  where  in  the  gentle 
current  one  could  satisfy  his  most  ardent  passion  for 
trout,  and  become  fairly  surfeited ;  that  is,  if  one  could 
ever    become    completely    surfeited    with    fly-fishing. 

Not  far  from  Trout  Cove  was  the  run  below  the  old, 
now  submerged,  stone  dam,  which  for  large  trout  in 
the  autumn  surpassed  any  spot  I  ever  knew  of.  I  used 
to  have  the  fishing  there  alone  and  unrestricted  to  my 
heart's  exorbitant  content,  over  twenty  years  ago, 
when  there  was  scarcely  another  rod  going.  Day 
after  day  I  fished  it  in  the  height  of  the  season,  wending 
my  way  to  it  a  mile  through  the  woods  by  lantern 
light  to  get  the  first  fishing  of  the  blushing  mom;  and 
after  resting  through  the  day  I  would  take  in  the  even- 
ing fishing,  and  wend  my  way  home  an  hour  after  dark 
by  the  same  light  which  had  guided  my  morning  foot- 
steps. Sometimes  I  would  get  hold  of  a  big  fellow 
after  dark,  which  would  so  tire  my  patience  that  I 
would  feel  like  straining  my  leader  to  separation. 

The  water  there  ran  dark  and  smooth  in  a  passage  of 
30  or  40  ft.  wide  between  large  rocks  into  a  pool  of 
several  acres  in  area  below.  In  the  passage  and  below 
were  the  leviathans  of  the  deep.  Now  of  late  years, 
the  lake,  raised  12  or  15  ft.  higher,  has  destroyed  the 
current,  and  made  a  sea  of  the  locality. 

Some  days  one  might  whip  the  run  and  pool  for  hours 
without  a  rise,  although  gigantic  breaks  about  might 


A  Sportsman  427 

occasionally  be  observed,  but  the  favorable  hour  in 
the  right  season  was  sure  to  reward  the  seeker.  Once 
I  caught  the  pool  on  a  day  of  high  carnival,  a  day  of 
exultant  joy,  of  moving  and  commotion  among  trout, 
which  on  some  days  and  occasions  exhibit  an  eager 
recklessness,  and  are  fearless  and  bent  on  destruction. 
It  was  a  cold,  blustering,  gusty  day,  with  occasional 
sleet,  late  in  September,  when  I  had  to  go  back  fre- 
quently to  a  fire  on  the  shore  to  thaw  out  my  benumbed 
hands.  At  inters^als  the  water  boiled  about  me  with 
swirling  breaks,  and  visible  currents  of  pursuing  fish. 
My  first  cast,  a  short  one,  scarcely  10  ft.  away,  responded 
with  a  5 -pounder  in  an  instant,  and  I  begrudged  the 
time  it  required  to  bring  him  to  net.  Another  and 
another  rose  in  succession  to  my  fly,  which  scarcely 
flecked  the  merry  ripple  tops  ere  it  was  taken.  No 
under  of  fly  surface  draw  seemed  required  for  my  first 
few  fish,  and  I  screamed  with  delight  at  each  strike.  My 
third  was  an  8|-pounder  and  the  largest  of  the  day, 
and  the  smallest  was  3  lbs.,  and  my  total  catch  ten 
fish,  which  weighed  57  lbs. 

I  secured  all  alive  in  two  large  cars  I  had  at  the  run, 
excepting  the  largest,  which  was  gilled,  and  on  the 
following  day  weighed  the  balance  and  gave  back  to  the 
pool  all  but  three,  which  answered  any  use  I  could 
have. 

The  largest  trout  I  have  seen  after  being  caught 
weighed  almost  exactly  1 1  lbs.,  although  there  are  well- 
authenticated  instances  of  trout  which  have  been  caught 
weighing  12  and  15  lbs.,  and  lo-pounders  have  been 
taken  in  several  instances.  The  largest  I  have  ever  taken 
weighed  g\  lbs.  and  the  second  largest  9  lbs.,  and  I 
have  taken  a  good  many  from  7  to  a  little  over  8  lbs. 


428  Reminiscences  of 

I  once  secured  a  9 ^-pounder  from  the  apron  below  the 
Upper  Dam  some  fifteen  years  ago,  which  came  over 
the  fall  of  the  dam  above  and  was  left  dry  on  the  apron 
logs.  The  logs  of  the  apron  were  separated  somewhat, 
allowing  the  water  to  pass  through  as  it  flowed  over 
the  dam.  I  was  some  distance  off.  and  saw  the 
commotion  on  the  apron,  which  I  first  thought  was  my 
Skye  terrier  at  play,  as  he  frequented  the  spot;  but 
succeeded  in  arriving  at  the  apron  and  in  securing  the 
fish  as  he  had  almost  reached  the  end  of  the  apron  and 
was  about  to  drop  into  the  water  below.  I  have  seen  eels 
of  10  and  12  lbs.  weight  caught  securely  between  the 
logs  of  that  old  apron,  which  came  over  the  dam  at 
night,  large,  lusty,  black-backed  and  yellow-bellied  fel- 
lows, which  had  doubtless  done  their  share  in  ravag- 
ing the  lakes. 

I  remember  well  this  large  trout,  the  11 -pounder, 
which  for  several  years  in  the  autumn  came  to  the 
same  place  in  a  moderate  swirl  of  water  above  a 
dam,  where  in  his  mighty  solitude — for  he  seemed 
quite  alone — ^he  would  signify  his  presence  occasionally 
by  an  uplifting  at  the  surface  which  would  make  an 
angler's  heart  quake.  He  became  the  target  of  many 
ambitious  efforts,  both  of  fly-casters  and  bait-dabblers, 
but  maintained  a  dignified  and  conservative  indiffer- 
ence. In  a  quiet  surface  and  with  the  sun's  rays  in  a 
favorable  quarter  he  was  often  observed  either  in 
quiet  meditation  or  slowly  taking  his  constitutional 
promenade.  In  vain  were  flies  sunk  for  his  con- 
venience, and  equally  vain  were  the  tidy  worms 
and  natty  grasshoppers  trailed  before  his  majestic 
presence.  Some  vowed  he  was  3  ft.  long,  that  his 
mouth  was  large  enough  to  take  in  a  black  duck,  and 


A  Sportsman  429 

that  he  must  weigh  1 5  tbs.  Well,  he  was  taken  one  day 
by  an  old  guide,  who  would  have  scorned  to  have  taken 
him  any  other  way  than  fairly,  but  most  curiously 
he  was  taken  while  everybody  was  at  dinner,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  guide's  account  he  had  allowed  his  worm- 
baited  hook  to  rest  on  the  bottom  for  a  while,  from  which 
it  was  seized  by  the  old  patriarch,  and  in  natural 
sequence  completed  his  foraging  adventures  and  he 
soon  lay  gasping  on  the  green  grass.  He  did  not 
prove  to  be  15  lbs.  in  weight,  or  3  ft.  long;  in  fact,  was 
a  ver\'  short  trout  for  his  weight,  measuring  exactly 
27^  in.  in  length,  and  of  magnificent  color.  His  photo- 
graph, life-size,  is  before  me. 

A  remarkable  and  well-authenticated  catch  was 
made  by  my  friend  the  Hon.  H.  O.  Stanley,  of  Dixfield 
Me.,  some  years  ago,  in  the  large  lake,  of  five  trout  in 
one  day,  and  all  with  a  fly,  which  weighed  42  tbs.,  the 
largest  weighing  10  lbs.  and  the  smallest  7  tbs.  It  is 
doubtful  if  this  catch  with  a  fly  has  ever  been  exceeded 
by  any  fisherman  at  the  Rangeley  Lakes  in  a  single  day. 

We  find  in  men  the  characteristics  peculiar  to  cli- 
mate, soil,  and  food.  So  with  trout,  excepting  that  they 
show  much  more  prominently  than  with  the  human  race 
the  disparities  occasioned  by  their  surroundings.  Once 
when  fishing  through  the  ice  for  several  days  with  a 
friend  at  a  certain  place  on  the  lake  where  we  had  re- 
markably good  luck  in  getting  short,  thick  trout,  and 
which  place,  by  the  way,  produces  the  heaviest  trout  in 
the  lake  for  length,  and  after  pulling  out  a  fat  4-pounder 
which  hardly  measured  16  in.  in  length,  I  remarked  to 
my  friend  that  he  would  probably  be  surprised  to  catch  a 
i§  tb.  trout  which  woiald  exceed  the  4-pounder  in  length. 
In  demonstration  of  this  we  set  a  dozen  lines  in  30  ft. 


43°  Reminiscences  of 

of  water,  by  an  island  where  above  all  the  places  in  the 
lake  I  had  observed  the  trout  to  be  very  long  and  slim, 
and  where  the  color  indicated  most  positively  that  the 
bottom  was  not  only  very  muddy,  but  extremely  dark. 
Here  we  caught  fifteen  or  twenty  trout,  which  were  in- 
variably slim  and  eel-like  and  black-bellied.  Among 
them  were  several  running  from  i  to  i|  lbs.,  which  were 
not  less  than  from  1 5  to  17  inches  in  length.  In  that 
locality  it  is  imusual  to  catch  any  trout  of  great  weight, 
although  I  once  caught  one  there  of  the  most  unusual 
weight,  long,  slim  and  dark,  which  was  the  longest  trout 
I  ever  saw,  measuring  30  inches  in  length  and  weigh- 
ing 7  lbs.  He  was  an  old  one  and  evidently  dying  of 
old  age  and  lack  of  food,  which  his  waning  activity 
failed  him  in  gaining.  A  short  time  ago  a  lady,  a 
friend  of  mine,  caught  a  plump  8-pounder,  which 
measiu-ed  exactly  23  J  inches  in  length,  which  was  caught 
in  comparatively  shallow  water  in  a  quarter  where  I 
have  taken  thousands  of  trout,  but  where  I  have  never 
known  a  slim  black-bellied  trout  to  be  taken,  not 
even  a  stray,  though  often  strays  are  picked  up.  I 
have  often  taken  trout  which  I  knew  had  arrived 
where  caught,  within  twenty-four  hours,  from  a  dis- 
tance at  least  of  two  or  more  miles,  having  the  markings 
in  color  too  strong  to  be  ignored,  and  which  had  not 
been  long  enough  at  the  new  place  to  get  fitted  out  in 
the  prevailing  garb. 

Inexperienced  fishermen  may  think  this  somewhat 
improbable,  but  men  with  whom  I  have  almost  yearly 
fished  for  the  past  thirty  years  will  recognize  the  feat- 
ures I  have  illustrated.  We  often  remarked  to  each 
other,  "That  is  a  cedar  tree  trout,"  or  a  so  and  so  trout, 
and  probably  correctly.     Why  trout  will  remain  about 


A  Sportsman  431 

one  place  for  life  is  difficult  to  explain;  but  they  do. 
And  so  we  may  say  about  men.  Why  will  they  stay 
in  one  place  and  eke  out  an  uncertain  and  precarious 
existence,  when  they  can  go  where  they  could  do 
so  much  better?  I  often  think  of  this  while  I  am 
travelling  about  the  world  and  witness  the  prosperity 
of  some  localities  and  the  misery  of  others,  and  find 
humanity  pleased  and  satisfied  in  each  place.  No 
matter  where  I  go  it  is  mostly  the  same  with  the  inhab- 
itants, lauding  the  respective  merits  of  their  region  and 
claiming  advantages  not  possessed  by  others;  and  so 
they  stay  and  die,  and  their  children  grow  up  after 
them  and  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  parents.  And 
so  it  is,  I  presume,  with  the  trout.  If  they  could  talk 
and  express  themselves  and  be  understood,  it  would 
probably  be  found  that  they  had  very  good  reasons  of 
their  o-wn  for  continuing  where  they  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  slim  and  black,  when  they  might  go  where 
they  would  soon  get  fat  and  mellow  with  unctuous  deli- 
cacies. Occasionally  a  trout  strikes  out,  as  with  human- 
ity, and  never  returns,  linking  his  fortune  with  another 
colony,  and  unknown  evermore  among  his  old  friends 
and  relatives. 

Trout  are  well  protected  and  plentiful,  and  no  sea- 
son has  been  better  than  those  of  late  years,  and  if  the 
fishermen  who  display  their  skill  at  the  Upper  Dam 
dxiring  the  season  could  see  the  large  trout  on  the 
spawning  beds  in  October  and  November  they  would 
hardly  expect  any  diminution  of  the  noble  fish  in  the 
immediate  present.  The  water  below  the  Upper  Dam 
when  drawn  down  after  October  i,  and  the  shallows 
below,  are  covered  with  large  trout  of  4,  5,  6,  and  8  lbs., 
that  make  great  commotion  and  exhibit  their  immense 


432  Reminiscences  of 

backs  and  tails  with  prodigal  profusion.  Ornamented 
in  their  highest  colors,  they  present  a  most  fascinating 
sight;  now  swimming  along  in  pairs  at  a  slow  pace, 
then  whirling  in  great  eddies,  then  ploughing  across 
reaches  with  speed  and  streaming  wakes. 

With  cautious  steps  they  can  be  approached  to 
within  lo  or  15  ft.  and  most  closely  observed,  and  if 
disturbed  and  driven  away  to  deep  water  will  speedily 
return. 

I  have  never  in  many  seasons  seen  the  beds  below 
the  Upper  Dam  more  fully  occupied  by  large  trout  than 
in  late  years.  Many  believe  the  trout  to  be  less  plenti- 
ful than  before,  and  prophesy  that  in  a  few  years  trout- 
fishing  at  the  lakes  will  be  a  feature  of  the  past,  but  I 
do  not  agree  with  either  opinion,  and  my  annual  ex- 
periences extend  over  forty  seasons. 

Althovigh  many  trout  come  in  at  known  fishing  places 
they  bear  but  a  small  proportion  to  those  in  the  lakes. 
They  are  well  distributed,  and  the  favored  fishing  local- 
ities but  few.  Probably  nine  tenths  of  the  trout  have 
their  spawning  beds  in  retired  places,  in  comparatively 
still  water  and  entirely  unknown  to  the  average  visitor. 

I  think  next  to  man  the  blue  heron  {Ardea  herodias) 
is  the  greatest  destroyer  of  trout  at  these  lakes.  This 
bird  is  an  incessant  nocturnal  as  well  as  daily  feeder,  and 
of  inordinate  appetite,  and  although  its  principal  food 
is  chubs  and  frogs  it  destroys  a  great  many  trout  and 
will  get  away  with  ^-pounders,  if  not  larger.  They  will 
have  no  hesitancy  in  striking  and  fatall}'^  wounding 
trout  of  over  ilb.  in  weight.  Yearly  I  see  trout  swim- 
ming about  which  have  been  struck  and  pierced  by  this 
bird ;  lately  I  caught  two  which  were  unfit  for  food,  each 
over  I  lb.  in  weight,  having  holes  in  the  back  nearly 


A  Sportsman  433 

through  them  as  large  as  pipe  stems.  It  may  be  a 
question  if  this  bird,  of  which  hundreds  frequent  the 
shores  of  the  lakes  from  the  early  spring  to  the  ice,  do 
not  in  the  aggregate  kill  more  trout,  principally  small 
ones  up  to  i  lb.,  than  all  the  fishermen.  Aided  by  the 
loons,  kingfishers,  and  mink,  they  undoubtedly  do. 
The  mink  is  a  voracious  feeder,  and  will  destroy  large 
numbers  with  the  greatest  ease  from  congregating 
pools  and  the  breeding  streams  which  feed  the  lakes. 

A  mink  will  kill  a  dozen  trout  in  a  day  when  they 
are  easily  accessible,  eating  only  the  heads  and  leaving 
the  bodies  to  decay.  If  one  can  get  into  a  fisherman's 
car  it  wiU  strip  it  clean  of  trout  in  a  single  night,  even 
if  there  are  several  dozen,  and  carry  every  one  off. 

I  had  a  car,  which  was  accidentally  left  open, 
stripped  one  night  of  a  dozen  trout  weighing  from  i  to 
2  lbs.  It  was  a  ver>-  large  car,  having  but  a  small  opening 
in  the  top,  of  about  8  in.  square,  and  was  but  half  sub- 
merged, leaving  fuUy  i  ft.  of  raise  from  the  water  to  the 
exit  aperture.  I  could  hardly  see  how  so  small  an 
animal  as  a  mink  could  haul  out  trout  weighing  more 
than  itself ;  but  a  few  days  after,  when  I  had  replenished 
the  car  with  ten  or  twelve  more  trout,  one  or  two  of 
which  pulled  above  2  lbs.  and  one  nearly  3  lbs.,  I  saw 
how  it  was  done.  I  was  sitting  upon  the  shore  when 
I  observed  a  commotion  in  the  car  scarcely  40  ft.  from 
me.  It  was  covered,  but  the  trout  were  splashing  about 
at  a  great  rate;  and  presently  I  saw  a  mink  appear 
on  one  side  of  the  box,  swimming  about  and  beneath 
it,  endeavoring  to  find  entrance.  I  watched  him 
for  some  minutes  with  great  interest  and  amazement. 
He  woidd  swim  around  the  box  several  times,  then  be- 
neath, then  crawl  up  the  sides  and  inspect  the  top,  then 


434  Reminiscences  of 

dive  down  beneath  again  and  appear  upon  the  other 
side,  then  hesitate  on  top  apparently  for  reflection,  and 
then  in  the  most  active  manner  commence  his  journey- 
around  and  about  the  box  again.  He  paid  no  attention 
to  me  whatever,  as  I  remained  perfectly  quiet.  He  fi- 
nally dived  into  the  water  and  disappeared.  Interested 
to  know  how  he  would  act  in  taking  the  trout,  I  took  ad- 
vantage of  his  absence  to  go  to  the  box  and  remove  the 
cover,  and  returned  to  my  previous  sitting  place.  In  a 
few  moments  I  saw  him  appear  at  the  box  again;  he 
swam  about  several  times  before  mounting.  On  top 
he  immediately  discovered  the  opening,  down  which  he 
disappeared.  At  first  I  thought  I  would  run  up  and 
replace  the  cover,  but  then  it  occurred  to  me  that  I 
should  perhaps  catch  a  tartar ;  and  besides  I  wished  to 
see  how  the  work  was  done,  as  I  had  been  the  victim  of 
several  losses  of  this  character.  The  splashing  in  the 
car  indicated  his  entrance,  and  in  half  a  minute  he 
appeared  at  the  top  dragging  out  a  struggling  i-tt). 
trout.  But  the  struggles  were  comparatively  faint, 
as  the  mink  had  evidently  given  the  fish  a  distinctive 
quietus.  Down  into  the  water  he  slid  and  disappeared. 
I  saw  him  soon  appear  along  the  shore  above,  when 
I  lost  sight  of  him.  In  less  than  three  minutes  he  ap- 
peared again  at  the  box  and  repeated  his  first  act  with 
a  second  trout,  which  he  disappeared  with  as  before,  and 
returned  after  about  the  same  lapse  of  time.  The 
third  act  was  more  prolonged,  as  he  attacked  the 
largest  trout  in  the  car,  heavier  than  himself,  but  finally 
dragged  it  out  and  carried  it  off.  I  concluded  it  time 
to  put  the  cover  on  the  box  and  end  the  play,  well 
satisfied  that  otherwise  all  the  trout  would  soon 
disappear. 


A  Sportsman  435 

The  trout  of  the  Rangeley  Lakes  probably  average 
larger  than  from  any  other  waters.  I  should  estimate 
the  average  weight  of  those  caught  in  the  lakes  at  a 
pound.  I  have  not  kept  any  particular  record  of  my 
catches  of  late  years,  but  did  until  some  twenty  years 
ago,  when  I  had  a  record  of  over  6000  trout,  which  aver- 
aged over  a  pound,  but  my  catches  then  included 
those  of  winter  fishing  through  the  ice,  when  the  lakes 
were  but  little  visited,  and  before  it  was  any  infraction 
of  the  law  to  so  fish.  I  was  very  fond  of  those  excur- 
sions of  two  or  three  weeks  at  the  lakes,  with  trout  for 
the  object,  and  the  auxiliaries  of  the  robust  open-air 
life,  the  shooting,  skating,  and  other  sports. 

With  a  few  companions,  we  would  have  no  difficulty 
in  securing  an  average  of  fifty  pounds  of  trout  a  day, 
which,  well  frozen  up,  were  carried  out  for  distribution 
among  our  friends.  These  winter  trout  would  average 
a  full  pound  and  a  third,  seldom  taking  under  half  a 
poimd,  and  up  to  an  occasional  seven-  or  eight-pounder. 

I  have  given  considerable  attention  to  the  freezing  of 
fish,  especially  trout,  during  the  winters  when  I  have 
been  at  the  Rangeleys,  during  former  years,  when  the 
season  was  open  for  winter  fishing  through  the  ice. 
Insensible  to  cold  as  the  Rangeley  fish  seem  to  be, 
they  will  invariably  die  in  a  short  time  when  confined  in 
a  car  and  pushed  down  under  and  next  to  the  ice,  whUe 
they  will  live  a  long  time  in  a  weighted  car  if  sunk  to  the 
bottom.  The  sluggishness  of  the  trout  is  clearly  ap- 
parent in  the  last  part  of  the  winter,  and  I  have  often 
caught  them  in  this  advanced  condition,  when  I  have 
wondered  at  their  ability  to  take  the  bait.  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  many  of  them  go  into  the  mud  along-side 
the  other  fish. 


436  Reminiscences  of 

In  December  and  January  there  is  a  notable  scarcity 
of  live  bait,  and  in  February  and  March  they  are  very 
difficult  to  find,  although  I  have  sought  for  them  in  doz- 
ens of  places,  both  in  deep  water  and  shallow,  and  those 
places  where  I  have  taken  any  in  the  late  months  were 
in  the  vicinity  of  springs,  and  hardly  any  to  be  obtained, 
excepting  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  and  those 
preceding  sundown.  I  have  frequenth^  had  to  go 
out  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  in  the  adjoining  country 
and  fetch  them  from  spring  holes.  Yet  the  trout 
caught  are  seldom  empty  of  small  fry  or  chubs,  and  it 
is  quite  likely  that  the  trout  root  them  out  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  from  the  mud;  and  that  trout  do  root 
in  the  mud  a  good  deal  is  indicated  by  the  earth  and 
often  lumps  of  clay  found  in  their  stomachs.  I  have 
caught  large  trout  often  with  a  small  handful  of  clay 
balls  in  their  stomachs,  which  have  remained  after 
the  probable  exudation  of  loose  earthy  matter.  The 
parasites  attached  to  trout  fins,  so  noticeable  in  the 
winter  and  early  spring,  and  which  soon  disappear 
in  open  water,  indicate  their  earth-frequenting.  While 
in  December  and  early  January  the  trout  are  compara- 
tively plentiful  in  a  few  feet  of  water  below  the  ice,  they 
are  mostly  off  in  from  15  to  40  feet  of  water  afterward, 
but  I  have  seldom  found  them  below  50  feet.  In  winter 
they  are  mostly  at  the  bottom  or  within  i  or  2  feet  of  it. 
In  this  season  the  contents  of  their  stomachs  are  quite 
miscellaneous — ^glutinous  ground  feed,  chubs,  varieties 
of  small  fry,  rarely  blue-backs,  and  suckers. 

The  results  in  freezing  I  have  so  far  obtained  are  as 
follows,  relating  especially  to  trout: 

That  trout  may  be  frozen  solid  without  destroying 
life. 


A  Sportsman  437 

That  they  may  be  fully  resuscitated  after  several 
days'  freezing. 

That  they  must  be  frozen  quickly  and  at  a  temper- 
ature equal  to  10  to  15  degrees  below  zero. 

That  while  frozen  they  must  be  completely  pro- 
tected from  the  sun. 

That  while  frozen  they  must  not  be  submitted  to  a 
temperature  below  zero,  but  in  one  sufficient  to  pre- 
vent any  thaw. 

That  in  resuscitating  in  water  an  abundant  supply 
must   be   given. 

That  the  water  must  be  at  a  temperature  of  from 
32  to  35  degrees. 

That  the  temperature  of  the  apartment  must  be 
kept  at  about  the  same  level. 

That  the  thawing  must  be  so  regulated  that  from  25 
to  30  hours  must  be  given  before  the  fish  is  restored. 

Upon  being  numbed  and  frozen  quickly  before  life 
is  seriously  affected  by  exposure  out  of  water,  and  kept 
and  thawed  as  mentioned,  they  will  resume  their  natu- 
ral and  normal  condition,  and  when  returned  to  the 
lake  will  swim  off  at  a  lively  rate.  The  commoner 
kinds  of  fish  may  be  frozen  and  restored  with  much  less 
care. 

The  bull-heads  or  hom-pouts,  which  have  a  great 
tenacity  of  life,  may  in  cold  weather  be  frozen  up  and 
thawed  out  to  life  very  readily.  I  remember  an  in- 
stance of  some  being  caught  in  another  locality  from 
the  lakes,  where  they  were  left  carelessly  on  a  boat- 
house  floor,  and  speedily  froze  up  together,  which  in  a 
week  afterward  were,  all  but  one  or  two,  fully  restored 
to  life  and  activity  by  the  cold-water  cure.  The  bull- 
head is  a  good  liver  out  of  water  if  kept  moist  and  cool. 


438  Reminiscences  of 

I  well  remember  when  a  boy  catching  them  on  a  misty- 
night,  and  after  leaving  some  of  them  in  the  wet  grass 
behind  me  finding  them  alive  in  the  morning. 

Most  fishermen  are  familiar  with  the  marsh  grass 
chub  netted  along  the  sea-shore,  which  retain  life  so 
long  out  of  the  water.  In  former  years,  late  in  winter  I 
have  frequently  carried  them  up  to  the  Rangeleys  for 
live  bait,  packed  in  cigar  boxes,  with  flannel  between 
layers.  They  will  keep  lively  for  some  days  if  kept  cool 
and  put  in  water  over  nights. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  all  kinds  of  fish  in  the  lakes 
hibernate  more  or  less  as  frogs  do  during  the  winter 
months,  and  certainly  become  dormant  to  a  consider- 
able extent ;  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  trout  in  a  limited 
way  go  into  the  fluffy  mud  somewhat  as  about  all  the 
chubs  and  small  fry  do.  In  the  open  season  the  waters 
fairly  swarm  with  the  latter,  while  they  are  difficult  to 
find  after  January. 

Trout  stalking  when  the  conditions  are  favorable 
may  be  accounted  the  most  fascinating,  exciting,  and 
artistic  method  of  taking  the  speckled  beauties. 

The  season  in  the  northern  waters  of  Maine  is  Sep- 
tember, when  the  summer  heat  is  over,  and  when  the 
cool  days  and  nights  have  lowered  the  temperature  of 
the  surface  waters  down  to  63°  Fahrenheit,  and  below; 
the  field,  that  of  a  placid  lake  or  pond  where  trout 
abovmd,  when  the  surface  is  entirely  smooth,  or  agitated 
only  by  faint  ripples. 

The  afternoon  is  more  favorable  than  the  morning, 
although  some  days  are  throughout  favorable. 

With  the  above  conditions,  and  a  light  boat  and  com- 
panion guide  at  the  stem  who  can  skilfully  propel  the 
boat  over  the  water  with  scarcely  a  ripple  from  the 


A  Sportsman  439 

paddle,  and  with  a  light  casting  rod  of  good  length,  and 
a  light  leader  and  a  No.  8  or  10  fly,  and  a  landing  net, 
one  is  equipped  for  the  sport. 

It  may  be  sunny  or  not,  overcast  or  clear,  it  matters 
not  if  the  wind  is  absent  or  light,  but  on  a  bright  or 
sunny  day  the  necessity  of  skilful  work  is  more  ap- 
parent than  when  the  sky  is  overcast  or  dull.  When 
the  sun  is  shining  or  partially  obscured,  the  boat  should 
be  worked  between  the  sun  and  breaks,  to  the  advan- 
tage of  the  fisherman  and  the  disadvantage  of  the  trout. 
The  effect  of  shadow  is  light  compared  with  the  ad- 
vantages so  gained. 

Many  of  the  lakes  and  ponds  in  Maine  where  trout 
abound  are  favorable  localities  for  this  sport,  although 
all  are  not,  and  there  are  usually  quite  a  number  of  days 
in  September  when  the  temperature  of  the  surface 
water  and  other  features  are  entirely  favorable. 

I  will  confess  to  have  allowed  some  decades  of  fish- 
ing experiences  to  pass  before  I  became  familiar  with 
this  sport,  to  which  of  late  years  I  have  looked  forward 
with  much  interest  and  expectation. 

The  trout,  which  were  plentiful  near  the  surface 
from  the  going  out  of  the  ice  until  the  middle  of  June 
when  the  surface  water  warmed  up  to  a  temperature  of 
65°,  have  sunk  away  to  cooler  depths,  where  they  re- 
main until  the  surface  water  again  becomes  favorable 
from  the  cooler   weather  of  autumn. 

But  in  surface  stalking  one  does  not  get  so  large  fish 
as  in  spring  trolling,  for  it  is  the  medium-sized  fish  that 
gives  itself  the  frolicsome  play  of  surface  feeding,  weigh- 
ing from  J  lb.  to  2i  lbs.,  and,  in  the  waters  which  I  fre- 
quent, averaging  a  trifle  over  |  lb. 

There  are  certain  autumnal  days  when  the  conditions 


440  Reminiscences  of 

are  favorable,  when  it  would  seem  as  if  all  the  medium- 
sized  trout  in  the  waters  were  surface  feeding. 

Not  in  an  eager  and  conspicuous  manner  with  splash- 
ing breaks  and  flashing  swirls,  but  in  a  quiet  sucking  in 
from  the  surface  of  the  varied  ephemera  which  plenti- 
fully abound,  in  a  manner  so  quiet  as  to  be  observable 
only  to  the  experienced  eye. 

No  minnow,  however  minute,  can  agitate  the  surface 
of  the  water  more  delicately  than  a  i^  tb.  trout,  if  he 
wills  it,  and  he  does  when  so  feeding,  although  the  oc- 
casional more  conspicuous  break  and  swirl  occurs  in 
the  presence  of  an  unusually  attractive  lure,  apparent 
to  the  most  ordinary  sight. 

Equipped,  the  boat  is  propelled  deftly  by  its  stem 
paddle  over  the  feeding  water.  The  fisherman  is  seated 
in  the  middle  of  the  boat,  casting  softly  to  the  right  and 
left  with  the  progress  of  the  boat,  for  the  advantage  of 
a  possible  surface  trout  that  may  be  about.  A  delicate 
apparent  minnow  break  is  observed  off  to  the  right,  per- 
haps 50,  perhaps  100  or  more  feet  distant,  of  which,  as 
soon  as  over,  nothing  remains  to  mark  the  exact  spot  ex- 
cept a  possible  air  bubble  or  two.  The  boat  is  propelled 
toward  the  side  of  it,  to  within  35  or  40  ft.,  when  the  cast 
is  given  over  or  near  the  spot.  Perhaps  the  fluttering 
fly  is  taken  at  the  instant  of  its  fall,  for  the  trout  may  be 
directly  beneath,  but  generally  not,  for  the  fly  is  al- 
most always  taken  below  the  surface,  which  position 
the  fly  will  assume  on  a  long  cast  and  a  slow  draw. 

The  trout  is  likely  to  have  moved  10  or  1 5  ft.,  perhaps 
more,  but  he  is  almost  sure  to  be  picked  up  in  the  neigh- 
boring area  if  he  has  not  been  alarmed  by  unskilful 
movements  of  the  boat  or  its  occupants. 

Often  an  active  trout  will  be  on  the  go  as  feeding,  and 


A  Sportsman  441 

by  the  time  that  the  boat  has  reached  a  position  for 
casting  over  the  first  break,  a  second  will  be  observed 
still  beyond  a  possible  cast,  presumably  from  the  trout 
which  made  the  first  break,  and  before  the  second 
break  can  be  reached  a  third  appears  still  farther  on, 
and  sometimes  so  on;  and  I  have  often  followed  up 
and  secured  my  trout  which  has  carried  me  by  a  dozen 
breaks  and  fifty  or  sixty  rods  beyond  the  initial 
appearance. 

Ordinarily,  if  a  break  occurs  within  a  few  boat- 
lengths'  distance,  which  can  be  speedily  reached,  the 
chances  are  more  than  half  in  favor  of  securing  the  fish. 
If  within  casting  distance  the  fish  is  almost  sure  of 
being  secured. 

Often  breaks  will  occur  so  near  the  boat  that  nothing 
can  be  done  but  for  the  stem  man  and  caster  to  remain 
motionless  until  the  boat,  if  under  a  headway,  may  pass 
on,  when  the  chances  are  half  in  favor  of  the  trout 
being  picked  up  in  the  rear.  If  the  boat  is  still,  the 
chances  of  taking  the  trout  are  diminished,  as  the 
motions  essential  to  shortening  line  and  the  prox- 
imity of  the  trout  are  likely  to  alarm  the  fish,  and  when 
alarmed  he  invariably  strikes  down.  Occasionally 
the  breaks  are  so  plentiful  that  one  may  take  half  a 
dozen  fish  without  moving  his  boat.  I  remember  an 
instance  a  few  years  ago,  when  accompanied  by  an 
English  fishing  friend  whose  experience  had  been 
mostly  in  the  dry  fly  drop  of  the  Thames,  where  he  had 
notable  success,  that  we  caught  well  out  on  the  pond 
fourteen  trout  averaging  nearly  a  pound  in  weight, 
without  touching  the  paddle  to  the  water,  and  my 
friend  became  exceedingly  enthusiastic,  which  he  well 
might  be. 


442  Reminiscences  of 

This  fishing  must  not  be  confounded  with  pool  fish- 
ing, or  that  which  we  often  find  in  isolated  ponds  which 
are  unfrequented,  and  where  the  little  chaps,  entirely 
uneducated  to  the  penalty  of  the  hook  and  fearless,  will 
crowd  about  a  raft  or  boat  until  a  hundred  or  more 
may  be  picked  up. 

The  fishing  I  refer  to  is  the  stalking  of  the  fish  in  well 
frequented  waters,  where  they  are  sought  and  followed 
up  under  the  peculiar  conditions  which  regularly 
occur  where  the  trout  are  scattered  over  the  surface, 
and  not  in  schools,  and  must  be  sought  for  by  their 
feeding  breaks;  a  fishing  distinctive  in  character,  and 
which  I  am  sure  is  not  extensively  practised  by  all 
fishermen. 

It  is  not  probable  that  localities  favorable  for  this 
stalking  exist  about  all  trout  waters,  but  there  are 
hundreds,  I  dare  say,  of  lakes  and  ponds  in  Maine 
where  it  can  be  most  successfully  followed. 

A  habit  I  had  much  pleasure  in,  in  winter  was  of 
watching  and  teasing  the  trout  in  the  water  below  the 
ice.  This  I  accommodated  myself  to  by  selecting  a 
good  locality  for  trout,  where  the  water  was  not  over 
8  or  9  feet  in  depth,  with  a  sandy  bottom.  Lying  upon 
some  blankets,  with  a  single  one  over  my  head,  and  a 
bookless  line  with  a  small  chub  tied  at  the  end  and  a  suf- 
ficient sinker,  I  would  bob  for  the  trout,  which  after  a 
while  would  come  swimming  along,  and  noticing  the 
bait  would,  first  indifferently,  but  afterward  more  vigor- 
ously, engage  with  it.  By  drawing  away  the  bait  at 
the  critical  moment,  after  considerable  teasing,  the 
trout  would  follow  up  the  bait,  it  being  withdrawn, 
and  having  a  fair-sized  hole  of  something  less  than  a 
foot  square,  and  two  feet  or  more  of  ice,  I  would  shortly 


A  Sportsman  443 

get  the  trout  up  near  the  bottom  ice,  and  finally,  at 
a  last  excited  dash,  rapidly  withdraw  the  bait,  with 
my  hand  at  my  side.  The  trout,  following  to  the  sur- 
face in  its  excitement,  would  for  a  moment  be  too  con- 
fused to  dive  below,  giving  me  in  that  moment  the 
opportunity  to  rapidly  put  my  hands  below  and  cast 
him  out  upon  the  ice,  unharmed,  but  much  alarmed. 
This  may  appear  difficult  to  do,  but  it  is  really  quite 
simple,  and  I  have  taken  four  or  five  trout  in  a  forenoon 
from  a  single  hole  in  this  manner. 

HOW  FISHES  FIND  THEIR  WAY  IN  THE  WATER. 

This  subject  has  been  a  subject  of  much  discussion 
without  resulting  in  any  definite  conclusion  to  many. 

One  opinion  given  is  that  fish  are  directed  by  an 
obser\'ation  of  bottom  ground,  or  other  land  guides, 
by  depth  of  water,  its  temperature,  etc.  Temperature 
undoubtedly  has  a  bearing  on  the  subject,  as  fish  seek 
and  occupy  zones  most  to  their  hking,  of  which  a 
prominent  illustration  is  shown  by  the  Gulf  Stream, 
inhabited  by  a  class  of  fish  which  are  not  found  outside 
of  it,  excepting  in  corresponding  temperature. 

All  fish  are  cold-blooded,  yet  the  cetacean  family, 
comprising  the  whale,  orca,  porpoise,  seal,  and  kindred, 
avoid  warm  temperatures  and  invade  the  most  frigid 
regions.  But  the  seeking  by  the  anadromous  families 
of  their  appropriate  spawning  localities  when  scattered 
about  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  the  directness  of 
their  efforts,  has  been  a  subject  of  surprise. 

A  conclusion  generally  arrived  at  is,  that  fishes  are 
directed  by  instinct;  by  that  mysterious  inward  im- 
pulse which,  unreasoning,  blindly  directs  its  possessor 
for  the  preservation  of  its  kind.     True  enough  in  the 


444  Reminiscences  of 

respect  of  propagation  in  the  necessitated  element  of 
fresh  water,  which  nature  impels  a  seeking  for  at 
the  appropriate  season. 

The  question  arises,  how  does  the  fish  find  its  way  to 
the  fresh- water  stream,  as  instanced  by  those  which  un- 
erringly arrive  at  the  locality  where  their  young  lives 
commenced.  We  will  admit,  a  priori,  that  fishes  do  find 
their  way  in  the  water.  It  is  my  opinion  that  fishes 
find  their  way  through  the  water  by  explainable 
methods,  as  readily  as  humanity  does  in  a  forest 
where  prominent  objects  direct  the  way. 

The  sense  of  smell  or  a  sense  analgous  to  that  is  very 
strongly  developed  in  fishes,  especially  in  the  Salmo 
family,  with  which  I  have  had  more  experience  than 
with  any  other.  In  the  Salmo  family  and  with  many 
others  there  is  a  prominent  line  mark  extending  on 
the  body  from  the  head  to  the  tail,  which,  when  ex- 
amined closely,  exhibits  a  cellular  structure  apart 
from  the  adjoining  body.  What  bearing  this  feature 
has  upon  the  possessor  is  conjectural,  but  it  may  com- 
prise a  sense  of  communication  which  has  not  been 
estimated.  There  are  probably  other  senses  in  creation 
which  we  do  not  know  of,  independent  of  the  human 
category  of  five,  which  have  a  bearing  little  under- 
stood. 

In  the  absence  of  a  strictly  appropriate  designation 
I  will  define  scent  as  the  element  of  perceptiveness 
which  enables  fishes  to  find  their  way  in  the  water, 
and  I  will  present  my  views  in  support  of  that  theory 
from  such  observations  as  I  have  experienced. 

All  fishermen  have  noted  the  rapid  way  trout  have 
in  expelling  the  artificial  fly  if  not  hooked,  and  the 
attractive  way  bait-fishing  has  of  drawing  trout  from 


A  Sportsman  445 

a  distance  if  followed  in  one  place,  the  odor  of  which 
moving  by  slow  currents  reaches  the  perceptive  organs 
of  fish.  Beyond  this  there  is  a  condition  of  body 
which  imparts  to  other  fishes,  and  likewise  attracts, 
that  is  inexplicable  to  our  ordinary  senses — that 
which  is  indicated  by  the  members  of  a  school  of  fish 
in  keeping  together,  though  often  widely  separated 
beyond  any  possibility  of  being  aided  by  vision,  con- 
spicuous with  porpoises,  orcas,  sword-  and  flying-fish 
and  an  endless  variety  of  other  fishes.  Whales  upon 
a  tmiform  feeding  route  will  be  widely  separated, 
and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  harpooning  of 
a  whale  belonging  to  a  school  will  be  almost  imme- 
diately communicated  to  the  other  members,  separated 
half  a  dozen  miles  apart,  as  observed  by  whalers. 

An  eminent  naturalist,  Matthias  Dunn,  describes 
the  lateral  line  as  consisting  in  its  cells  of  jelly  or 
mucus,  having  patches  of  sensitive  hairs  here  and  there, 
as  electrical  implements  pure  and  simple,  inclosing 
the  whole  body  of  the  fish,  and  says  these  cells  are  of 
the  same  character  as  those  in  the  electric  or  stinging 
ray;  that  the  fish  brain  is  a  magnet  polarized  by 
the  influence  of  the  peculiar  structure  of  the  lateral 
line,  constituting  a  new  sense  which  he  designates  as 
the  electric  dermal,  which,  he  thinks,  aids  the  migrating 
fish  directly  to  its  destination  for  spawning  grounds 
or  other  localities.  The  latter  conclusion  may  per- 
haps be  of  some  doubt,  though  it  may  under  natural 
laws  guide  the  fish  in  response  to  magnetic  effect 
from  the  rocks,   sands  and  other  elements. 

Stahr,  the  naturalist,  considers  that  the  sense  of 
hearing  is  imparted  by  the  influence  of  the  lateral  line. 

Fishermen  have  observed  the  feeding  activity  of 


44^  Reminiscences  of 

salmon  and  trout  before  the  commencement  of  a 
storm,  the  coming  event  being  communicated  prob- 
ably through  the  lateral  line.  This  activity  may  be 
the  result  of  electric  stimulus,  or  a  provision  of  nature 
in  communicating  by  wireless  telegraphy  the  necessity 
of  obtaining  food  or  depth  shelter  before  the  effect 
of  combating  elements.  That  fashes  have  a  limited 
memory  there  can  be  but  little  doubt. 

Seth  Green  related  in  his  hatchery  experience  of  a  pet 
two-pound  trout  in  one  of  his  hatchery  pools,  which, 
being  so  tame  as  to  take  food  from  his  hand,  would 
dart  wildly  away  if  approached  with  a  fiy-rod,  although 
it  gave  no  attention  to  a  walking-stick  waved  out  over 
the  water.  This  resulted  from  Mr.  Green's  having  once 
caught  the  trout  on  a  fly-rod  with  a  barbless  hook. 
Contrary  to  this  instance  of  memory  I  have  often  caught 
trout  which  had  but  a  short  time  before  escaped  by 
the  breaking  off  of  the  fly,  or  the  leader,  with  the 
evidence  of  the  previous  hooking  visible  from  the  im- 
bedded fly  and  perhaps  with  a  dangling  remnant  of  a 
leader.  I  have  many  times  caught  trout  which  had 
been  hooked  before. 

I  remember  a  visit  a  few  years  ago  of  a  friend, 
George  A.  Hull,  who  fastened  to  a  good-sized  trout,  be- 
tween four  and  five  pounds  in  weight,  which  broke  away 
after  being  played  for  some  moments  when  about  to 
be  netted,  carrying  off  the  hook  and  half  of  his  leader. 
He  estimated  the  trout  as  a  somewhat  heavier  weight 
than  it  proved  to  be,  and  came  in  disappointed.  In 
less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterward  I  had  this 
identical  trout  on  my  fly,  and  brought  it  successfully 
to  net,  verified  by  the  indisputable  evidence  of  the 


A  Sportsman  447 

particular  lost  fly  and  parted  leader.  This  did  not 
show  much  memory,  and  would  shade  the  theory  of 
Dr.  Dunn  that  the  primitive  memory  of  anadromous 
fishes  directed  them  to  the  particular  stream  of 
their  early  life,  directed  by  the  dermal  sense  in  its 
magnet  polarization  as  the  needle  guides  the  mariner 
to  point  of  destination. 

A.  H.  Gouraud,  in  one  of  his  articles  concerning 
the  movements  of  shad  to  the  Connecticut  River 
from  Long  Island  Sound,  said  they  approached  the 
mouth  of  the  river  from  the  east,  but  did  not  reach 
the  mouth  by  direct  course  from  the  waters  of  the 
Sound,  as  the  discharge  from  the  river  pursued  a  west- 
erly course  in  its  current,  making  a  loop,  so  to  say,  and 
the  shad  took  their  course  up  the  current  of  the  river 
waters,  thereby  occasioning  a  distance  of  a  score  of  miles 
more  than  would  be  required  if  the  shad  had  gone  direct. 
This  loop  course  in  the  sound  had  been  clearly  defined 
by  the  net  fishermen.  This  would  indicate  that  the 
current  of  the  river  was  the  guide  for  the  shad  to  follow. 
He  adds:  "This  fluvial  characteristic  may  be  due  to 
distinctive  mineral  particles  which,  retained  in  solution 
far  out  at  sea,  may  be  revealed  to  the  delicate  percep- 
tiveness  of  the  fish,  and  so  guide  it  from  the  deep  to 
its  bourn." 

I  would  add  to  the  mineral  particles  also  the  vege- 
table, an  important  element,  distinct,  and  noticeable 
by  fish.  It  is  the  following  of  these  elements  that 
guides  the  fish,  which  may  to  an  extent  have  an  edu- 
cated perception  as  well  as  taste.  I  have  frequently 
found  whole  fresh-water  clams  up  to  two  inches  and 
over  in  length  in  the  stomachs  of  trout,  which  are 


448  Reminiscences  of 

apparently  easily  digested,  having  been  scooped  up 
by  an  appetizing  eagerness  from  the  scent  of  the 
open  clam. 

It  is  doubtful  if  salmon  depart  far  in  the  sea  from 
the  estuaries  of  their  native  stream,  not  beyond  the 
reach  of  its  diffused  water,  which  they  readily  follow 
up  on  approach  of  their  propagating  period,  from  three 
to  four  years  after  their  exit,  as  the  salmon  are  not  ex- 
tensive travellers,  as  indicated  by  the  results  of  seining, 
and  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  it  is  evident  that  they  sel- 
dom depart  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  their 
streams,  and  that  their  principal  habitats  are  at  no 
greater  depth  than  from  loo  to  150  fathoms.  I  could 
give  pretty  conclusive  evidence  of  this  from  the  ob- 
servation I  have  made  in  this  respect. 

The  Pacific  salmon  have  their  respective  streams, 
and  at  their  season  of  stream-ascending  are  generally 
distinct  from  any  of  the  other  several  varieties,  al- 
though not  entirely  so,  being  accompanied  occasion- 
ally by  derelicts  from  a  kindred  family. 

I  should  consider  it  very  improbable  that  a  young 
salmon  conveyed  from  one  of  the  St.  Lawrence  tribu- 
taries to  an  European  stream  woiild  ever  find  its  way 
back  to  its  native  stream,  as  its  connecting  link  would 
be  lost,  and  should  doubt  the  efficacy  of  its  magnetic 
dermal  sense  to  direct  it  there.  It  is  possible  that  a 
salmon  by  its  delicate  perceptiveness  may  distinguish 
the  diluted  odor  of  its  natal  tributary  in  the  general 
flow  of  its  fresh- water  stream,— else  why  should  its  as- 
cending course  be  sustained  short  of  its  objective 
point  ?  It  is  not  likely  it  has  any  distinct  memory  of  its 
early  association  in  the  tributary  where  the  first  year 
of  its  life  was  passed,  and  perhaps  two  years,  though 


A  Sportsman  449 

the  familiar  flow  of  its  water  may  be  detected  and  ap- 
peal to  its  motive  in  pushing  on. 

Thomas  Tod  Stoddart,  an  English  author-fisherman, 
relates  that  while  fishing  on  a  stream  with  spawn-bait 
during  the  day,  at  the  close  he  caught  several 
black-bellied  trout  not  frequenting  the  stream,  ex- 
cepting in  a  muddy-bottomed  pond  connecting,  sit- 
uated between  two  and  three  miles  below,  which  had 
undoubtedly  been  attracted  to  follow  up  the  stream 
by  the  odor  of  the  spawn  bait. 

My  friend  Walter  M.  Brackett,  the  veteran  salmon 
fisherman  and  distinguished  fish  painter,  with  whom 
for  nearly  half  a  century  I  have  compared  fishing  notes, 
is  as  strongly  convinced  as  I  am  of  the  extraordinarily 
acute  sense  of  smell  possessed  by  the  Salmo  family, 
and  relates  in  his  own  experience  at  his  own  Canadian 
salmon  stream,  where  he  has  never  used  any  attraction 
other  than  a  fly,  of  noting  large  numbers  of  salmon  and 
trout  as  having  been  attracted  and  drawn  up  from 
considerable  distances  down  the  stream,  from  a  quan- 
tity of  spawn  being  attached  to  the  stem  of  a  canoe 
fastened  at  the  river  bank  above. 

After  the  ice  disappears  in  the  spring,  and  at  the 
spa'WTiing  season,  these  habitating  trout  leave  their 
localities  more  or  less,  but  by  no  means  lose  their 
reckoning. 

Trout,  if  removed  from  their  habitats  and  dropped 
in  any  parts  of  the  lake,  will  speedily  return  home;  of 
this  I  have  had  abundant  evidence.  This  is  especially 
evinced  during  the  spawning  season,  when  trout  taken 
away  from  a  spawning  bed  will  return  with  celerity. 
A  particularly  thin  and  slabby  milter  weighing  about 
two  pounds  I  purposely  experimented  with,  by  carrying 


450  Reminiscences  of 

him  off  into  the  lake  a  mile  before  liberating  him  from 
the  towing  car,  and  caught  him  at  the  first  place  again 
that  evening.  I  liberated  him  the  second  time  fully 
three  miles  away  and  found  him  the  following  morning 
at  the  old  stand. 

The  general  movements  of  the  Salmo  family  occur 
in  the  night,  as  in  ascending  streams,  however  tor- 
tuous or  difficult,  lying  by  in  the  daytime.  Their 
feeding  also  is  done  principally  after  dark,  when  they 
are  more  daring  and  predatory,  and  they  do  not  assume 
their  full  night  vigorousness  in  the  dusky  twilight, 
nor  by  moonlight,  but  in  the  darker  hours,  when  their 
boldness  is  conspicuous,  and  will  take  the  fly  of  sombre 
color  in  preference  to  one  of  white.  I  have  wondered 
with  their  night  adaptiveness  of  sight  how  little  their 
day  shyness  is  indicated,  when  I  have  frequently  had 
them,  in  pursuit  of  small  fish,  dash  up  within  hand 
reach  on  flat  rocks  or  the  sandy  beach  where  I  have 
been  sitting. 

The  lake  water  appears  uniform  as  does  the  sea  to  the 
casual  observer,  but  there  is  a  varying  quality,  and 
many  currents  in  both.  These  qualities  are  not  ap- 
parent to  our  coarser  senses  excepting  in  a  very  or- 
dinary way,  i)ut  the  respiratory  organs  of  the  fish,  the 
gills,  etc.,  may  be  keenly  sensitive  to  conditions  of  tem- 
perature and  water  admixtures,  even  as  our  sense  of 
smell  detects  the  faint  odor  of  smoke  in  the  country 
fields  or  forest.  The  different  qualities  of  water  in 
this  lake  of  six  miles  in  length  which  I  inhabit  now  more 
than  others,  are  quite  apparent  to  my  taste,  and  I  have 
often  remarked  the  odor  in  drinking  water  from  the 
sheltered  coves,  arising  from  vegetable  matter;  also 
in  that  taken  from  a  forty-or  fifty-foot  depth. 


A  Sportsman  451 

Every  stream  or  rivulet  which  empties  into  the  lake 
has  a  distinctive  taste,  apart  from  the  others,  stamped 
and  impregnated  with  the  quality  of  the  ground  and 
foliage    through    which    it    makes    way. 

The  ice  indicates  perceptibly  to  the  eye  the  prom- 
inent instances  in  this  respect;  currents  imperceptible 
to  the  eye  are  constantly  moving  in  various  direc- 
tions, and  are  the  directing  signboards  for  the  fish. 

Fishing  on  the  California  coast  with  fresh  fish 
bait,  I  caught  some  hundreds  of  salmon  by  trolling 
with  a  light  steel  rod  and  600  feet  of  line.  I  observed 
the  following  features :  That  as  schools  of  salmon  com- 
prising many  thousands  came  in  from  deep  water, 
following  up  the  anchovies,  sardines  and  squid,  which 
came  in  from  spawning,  they  would  at  certain  periods 
mostly  all  disappear,  to  be  followed  after  a  lull  by 
other  schools.  I  observed  that  the  salmon  would 
disappear  a  few  days  after  a  rise  of  water  from  either 
the  San  Joaquin  or  the  Sacramento  river,  emptying 
into  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  giving  abundant  salmon 
for  the  seining  and  canning  works  upon  the  banks  of 
the  latter.  By  the  San  Francisco  papers  the  noting 
of  the  salmon  arrivals  would  be  four  or  five  days  after 
their  disappearance  from  the  Monterey  waters. 

The  Japanese  current  known  as  the  ktiro  siwo,  the 
great  current  stream  from  the  Yellow  Sea,  corre- 
sponding with  the  American  Gulf  Stream,  pursues 
its  way  across  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  the  California  coast, 
regulating  the  climate  from  California  to  Alaska  as 
does  the  American  Gulf  Stream  that  of  England, 
France,  and  Iceland;  pursues  its  way  north  some  300 
or  400  miles  west  of  California  until  it  reaches  the  long 
extending  loop  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  which  ends 


452  Reminiscences  of 

but  a  few  hundred  miles  from  the  Asiatic  coast.  This 
loop  of  islands  diverts  the  Japanese  current  inland  and 
the  stream  curves  in  its  route  until  it  proceeds 
south  along  the  Washington,  Oregon,  and  California 
coasts;  and  the  remarkable  feature  is  presented  of 
two  mighty  streams,  but  slightly  apart,  proceeding 
in  opposite  directions  in  greater  volume  than  all  the 
combined  land  rivers  of  the  world  could  exhibit  if 
united  in  one  body. 

The  speed  of  this  mighty  current  south  opposite  the 
outlet  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  is  estimated  at  be- 
tween thirty  and  forty  miles  per  day  of  twenty -fovu" 
hours.  Into  this  current  pour  the  brackish  and  roiled 
waters  of  the  bay. 

The  fresh  water  combining  with  the  salt  is  quickly 
detected  by  the  salmon  a  hundred  miles  below,  and  a 
general  exodus  of  the  salmon  takes  place,  leaving  but 
a  few  stragglers  remaining. 

In  three  or  four  days  after  their  departure  the 
canners  on  the  Sacramento  River  are  abundantly 
supplied  by  seiners. 

Shortly  afterward  a  fresh  school  comes  in,  which 
departs  as  those  before  after  a  few  days  following 
a  fresh  rise  of  the  river  waters,  and  appears  as  in  the 
first  instance  a  few  days  after  their  departure  at  the 
usual  seining  localities.  These  instances  occurring 
several  times  during  my  fishing  period  plainly  indicated 
to  me  the  result  of  the  river  freshets.  No  mistake 
could  occur  in  the  identity  of  the  particular  schools 
in  disappearing  from  the  Monterey  waters  and  appear- 
ing at  the  Sacramento  River,  as  the  same  class  of  salmon 
known  as  the  king  or  chinook,  inhabiting  the  Col- 
umbia  River    several    hundred    miles    north    of    the 


A  Sportsman  453 

bay  of  San  Francisco,  average  about  22  pounds  in 
weight,  while  those  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joa- 
quin rivers  average  almost  exactly  1 7  pounds,  as  shown 
by  the  average  weights  taken  at  each  locality. 

No  salmon -ascending  rivers  existing  between  the 
two  mentioned  points  would  clearly  indicate  the  identity 
of  the  Monterey  and  Sacramento  River  class.  So 
the  salmon  of  the  Pacific  Coast  go  to  their  spawning 
grounds,  never  to  return  to  the  refreshing  sea  again; 
or  if  by  chance  a  few  should  be  able  to,  their  bruised 
condition  and  totally  impaired  digestive  organs  result 
in  but  a  brief  existence.  No  authentic  instance  is 
known  of  a  river  salmon's  survival  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
If  any  had  been  taken  they  would  show  their  identity 
by  their  disfigured  appearance,  which  has  never  been 
observed. 

In  the  banner  year  of  1902,  15,000,000  salmon  were 
canned  on  the  coast;  yet  no  serious  diminution  in 
numbers  has  occurred,  nor  have  the  results  of  conducted 
hatcheries  shown  great  success,  despite  the  general 
opinion  to  the  contrary.  Therefore  the  great  mass  of 
salmon  regularly  taken  may  be  assumed  to  be  the 
progeny  of  those  who  sacrificed  their  lives  for  suc- 
cessors. 

That  electrical  elements  are  prominent  features  in 
the  denizens  of  the  sea  and  fresh-water  bodies,  is 
clearly  apparent  and  of  undoubted  efficient  service, 
and  may  be  a  part  of  that  element  I  have  designated 
as  scent,  as  a  general  sense  which  gives  perceptiveness 
of  fresh  water  in  the  sea,  or  of  minerals  and  earth  in 
solution,  from  magnetic  qualities.  This  electric  quality, 
or  whatever  we  may  choose  to  call  it,  we  observe  in 
freshly-caught  fish  which  curl  up  and  break  in  cooking, 


454  Reminiscences  of 

giving  a  feature  not  apparent  when  fish  have  been 
kept  a  day  or  two. 

Eels  display  this  element  prominently,  and  also  the 
bull-head  or  horn-pout.  The  marine  mammals  may 
receive  large  benefits  from  it  in  their  long  passages 
in  the  sea. 

I  am  reminded  of  an  account  related  to  me  by  an 
English  friend,  of  a  pet  seal  owned  by  some  one  he  knew 
who  kept  a  lighthouse  on  the  coast  of  England,  which, 
captured  when  a  cub,  was  domesticated  with  the 
family,  being  fed  and  allowed  the  range  of  the  kitchen 
on  the  ground  floor,  to  which  the  seal  had  ready  access. 
This  seal  would  make  its  way  daily  down  to  the  water 
and  pass  many  hours  in  the  element,  securing  more  or 
less  food,  but  always  returned  to  its  place  in  the  kitchen 
at  night.  Blindness  finally  came  on  with  age  to  the 
seal,  but  it  continued  its  journeys  to  the  sea  and,  re- 
turned home  as  regularly  as  before.  Complete  blind- 
ness finally  came  to  the  seal,  and,  fully  fed  by  the  house- 
hold, its  visits  to  the  sea  became  less  frequent.  As  old 
age  came  on,  it  caused  annoyance  by  its  peculiar  cry 
for  food  and  lessened  ability  to  get  about ;  so  much  so 
that  the  family  accounted  it  something  of  a  nuisance, 
and,  not  wishing  to  kill  it,  arranged  with  a  fisherman  to 
carry  it  well  off,  some  twenty  miles  away,  and  drop 
it  in  the  sea,  expecting  it  would  naturally  die  in  that 
element.  But  it  appeared  the  second  day  after  at  its 
accustomed  place.  Another  effort  was  made  to  get 
rid  of  it,  by  arranging  with  a  sailing  vessel  to  take  it 
several  hundred  miles  out  to  sea  and  then  drop  it  in. 
This  was  done,  and  a  nvimber  of  days  passed  away 
without  the  seal.  Six  or  seven  days  after,  during  the 
night,    the    kitchen    maid,    who    slept    adjoining    the 


A  Sportsman  455 

kitchen  entrance,  fancied  she  heard  the  plaintive  call 
of  the  seal  at  the  kitchen  door,  but  being  of  a  supersti- 
tious cast,  and  believing  the  call  was  from  the  banshee 
or  bad  spirit,  covered  her  head  beneath  the  bed  clothes. 
In  the  morning  the  emaciated  body  of  the  lifeless  seal 
was  found  at  the  kitchen  door.  The  story  may  be 
authentic  or  not,  but  I  do  not  consider  its  truthfulness 
to  have  been  impossible. 

The  vegetable  gro'W'th  in  the  water,  kelp,  etc.,  and 
currents  were  familiar  to  the  seal,  and  sight  would  have 
been  of  little  aid  to  it  compared  with  following  the 
perceptions  of  its  other  senses. 

Some  naturalists  have  expressed  the  belief  that  fishes 
find  their  way  to  their  spawning  rivers  or  desired 
localities  in  a  direct  course  by  the  pointing  of  instinct, 
and  that  alone.  This  conclusion  does  not  seem  to  be 
well  evidenced  or  satisfactory. 

But  the  mysterious  fish  of  the  lakes  is  the  blue-back 
trout  (Salmo  oquassa),  entirely  distinct  from  the  Salmo 
salveliniis,  with  which  it  has  no  affiiliation,  being, 
strictly  speaking,  an  arctic  trout,  which  in  some  pecul- 
iar manner  has  found  its  way  to  the  Rangeley  waters, 
as  well  as  to  a  few  other  northern  lakes.  As  ordinarily 
taken  they  weigh  about  five  to  the  pound,  the  maxi- 
mum being  near  half  a  pound.  The  fish  is  quite  dis- 
tinctly a  trout,  with  fine  coloring  and  red  spots.  It  has 
in  contradistinction  to  the  square  tail  of  the  Salmo 
family  a  swallow  tail,  and  a  blue  back  and  exceedingly 
small  teeth.  The  fish  is  long  and  slim  for  its  weight, 
and  for  food  purposes  inferior,  though  claimed  by 
many  to  be  equal  to  the  ordinary  trout,  but  to  my 
taste  soft  and  muddy.  One  might  fish  the  Rangeley 
for  years  and  never  encounter  one  or  suspect  its  pres- 


456  Reminiscences  of 

ence,  yet  they  exist  in  large  quantities.  Rarely — in 
fact  I  have  never  heard  of  but  one  or  two  instances 
where  they  have  been  caught  with  bait,  and  that  in  deep 
water.  They  are  strictly  denizens  of  the  deepest  parts 
of  the  lakes,  and  apparently  subsist  exclusively  upon 
ground  feed.  This  ground  feed  of  the  lakes  is  an  import- 
ant element  with  all  fish,  composed  of  insectivorous  var- 
ieties and  largely  viscous  matter,  which  settle  profusely. 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  October — from  the 
2oth  to  the  30th — the  blue-backs  find  their  way  to  the 
mouths  of  some  streams,  and  ascend  more  or  less  into 
the  quick  water,  where  they  deposit  their  spawn.  Their 
appearance  can  be  counted  upon  by  the  24th  almost  to 
a  day,  and  the  quantity  assembled  is  immense,  and  in 
some  instances  so  compact  is  the  mass  that  barrelsful 
can  be  netted  from  a  small  space.  During  the  brief 
period  of  spawning  they  are  easily  taken  after  dark 
from  the  shallow  quick  water  by  one  wading  among 
them  equipped  with  a  lantern  and  a  hand  net.  I  have 
often  taken  several  hundred  of  them  upon  an  occasion 
of  this  kind.  Their  tenacity  of  life  I  have  noted  as  a 
peculiar  feature,  for  I  have  had  them  out  of  water  for 
several  hours  of  a  cold  evening  and  fully  revived  some 
of  them  by  placing  them  in  a  barrel  of  fresh  water, 
where  they  have  survived  for  several  weeks,  and  in  fact 
would  have  survived  much  longer  but  for  the  freezing 
up  of  the  water.  This  fish  would  undoubtedly  stand 
solid  freezing  under  favorable  conditions  equally  well 
if  not  better  than  the  Fontinalis.  The  only  one  I  ever 
saw  out  of  season  I  picked  up  some  years  ago  on  the 
surface,  which  was  in  a  dying  condition,  having  been 
wounded  evidently  by  a  loon,  as  evinced  by  a  large 
hole  through  its  body. 


A  Sportsman  457 

The}'-  remain  on  the  spawning  beds  during  the  nights 
of  about  a  week  in  the  latter  part  of  October.  The 
large  trout  often  get  among  them  on  the  spawning 
grounds  at  night  and  make  havoc.  One  evening  as  I 
was  wading  with  rubber  boots,  with  lantern  and  net, 
I  felt  a  heav\^  movement  on  my  legs,  and  turning  my 
light  saw  a  large  trout,  which,  I  netted,  weighing  seven 
pounds. 

Of  late  years  the  landlocked  salmon  (Salmo  con- 
finis)  have  become  fairly  plentiful,  particularly  in  the 
Rangeley  Lake  proper,  where  first  introduced,  some 
twenty  years  ago,  and  also  in  the  large  lake,  and  in 
the  Richardson  Lakes.  In  the  latter  a  member  of  my 
family  caught  one  weighing  seven  and  one-half  pounds. 
The  salt  water  smelt  introduced  a  few  years  ago  has 
increased  extensively  and  extended  rapidly  to  all 
the  lakes  of  the  range.  This  fish  seems  readily  to 
habituate  itself  to  most  fresh-water  lakes,  and  has 
increased  to  a  very  large  extent  in  the  Rangeley 
waters,  although  confined  to  a  small  size  of  three  or  four 
inches  in  length.  Although  large  numbers  are  ob- 
served dead,  floating  upon  the  surface  of  the  water  in 
the  spring-time,  the  increase  seems  hardly  to  be  aflfected. 
This  fish  is  apparently  an  admirable  food  for  the  salmon 
and  trout,  and  in  the  spring  would  seem  to  be  the  prin- 
cipal food,  as  their  stomachs  seem  to  be  crowded  with 
them,  and  I  have  repeatedly  observed  from  fifty  to 
seventy  in  a  single  trout  of  large  size. 

I  consider  without  question  the  smelt  to  be  the  most 
valuable  fish  for  food  stocking  of  fresh-water  ponds  and 
lakes. 

The  landlocked  salmon  varies  in  size  largely  in  the 
fresh-water  lakes  where  placed      In  the  Sebago  Lake 


458  Reminiscences  of 

they  reach  a  weight  in  some  instances  exceeding  20 
pounds,  and  in  the  Rangeleys  they  are  often  caught  up 
to  12  pounds,  while  in  the  Schoodic  Lakes,  where  they 
have  been  long  domesticated,  and  where  I  have  caught 
many  hundreds,  they  seldom  exceed  5  pounds.  In 
California,  near  Point  Reyes,  in  Crystal  Lake,  con- 
trolled by  the  Country  Club,  and  where  I  aided  some 
years  ago  in  introducing  the  landlocked  salmon,  they 
gained  most  incredibly  in  weight  in  less  than  four  years, 
from  a  few  ounces  up  to  5  and  5^  pounds.  In  this  lake 
the  feed  was  almost  entirely  insectivorous,  and  largely — 
and  in  fact  I  might  say  almost  wholly — the  larva  of 
the  caddis  fly,  which  abounded  most  plentifully,  and 
which  seemed  to  be  the  whole  contents  of  aU  the  stom- 
achs I  examined  at  various  times.  I  regret  to  say, 
however,  that  the  flavor  of  these  salmon  is  distinctly 
off  from  any  I  have  ever  eaten,  arising,  I  believe,  from 
the  almost  exclusive  diet.  These  salmon,  however, 
will  rise  well  to  the  fly,  and  are  vigorously  gamelike. 
Crystal  Lake  is  infested  also  with  a  red  salamander 
lizard,  known  as  the  water  devil,  quite  common  in  Cali- 
fornia waters,  and  one  of  the  toughest  and  most  tena- 
cious reptiles  of  the  batrachian  family,  although  quite 
harmless.  These  lizards  are  3  or  4  inches  in  length, 
and  swim  rapidly  about  with  the  aid  of  their  tails. 
Their  skin  and  structure  is  so  tough  that  it  requires 
a  very  sharp  knife  to  separate  them,  and  they  have  a 
very  tenacious  life.  I  found  one  day  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake  a  salmon  between  4  and  5  pounds  in  weight,  freshly 
dead,  and  upon  examining  it  found  one  of  these  lizards 
firmly  fixed  with  a  deathly  grasp  in  the  throat  of  the 
salmon,  likewise  dead.  It  was  plain  enough  that 
the  salmon  had  seized  the  lizard  and  the  latter  had 


A  Sportsman  459 

secured  his  deadly  hold  in  the  salmon's  throat,  from 
which  I  had  a  good  deal  of  difficulty  in  parting  it.  I 
was  told  by  one  of  the  cattle  herders  that  he  had  seen 
other  instances,  and  in  his  opinion  the  salmon  fed  upon 
the  water  devils  and  the  latter  in  the  lake  had  much 
diminished  since  the  salmon  had  been  put  in.  The 
odor  of  the  water  devils  when  cut  up  is  very  disagree- 
able, and  it  may  be  that  this  accounts  for  the  inferior 
flavor  of  the  fish. 

While  trout  are  fonder  of  insectivorous  food  in  pref- 
erence to  any  other,  and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
while  growing  will  gain  doubly  in  weight  on  this  food 
over  a  fish  diet,  it  is  observ^able  that  a  deterioration 
in  flavor  occurs  from  this  exclusive  food.  I  have  taken 
trout  in  ponds  at  high  altitudes  in  the  Rock}-  Moun- 
tains, above  timber  growth,  where  such  waters  were 
hardly  free  from  ice  in  July,  where  the  trout  food  was 
exclusively  insectivorous,  and  they  were  decidedly 
lacking    in  flavor. 

This  landlocked  salmon  is  ver}'-  gamy  in  action  when 
struck,  more  so  than  the  trout,  and  good  eating  in 
the  Rangeleys,  though  in  this  respect  not  equal  to 
the  trout.  The  latter  in  my  opinion  are  superior  for 
eating  over  any  from  localities  I  know  of,  for  trout  vary 
much  in  this  respect. 


THE  forests  about  the  lakes  are  naturally  adapted  for 
deer  {Cervus  Virginianiis),  which  have  always  been 
comparatively  plentiful,  despite  the  inclement  winters 
and  deep  snows,  and  undoubtedly,  owing  to  the 
rigid  Maine  laws,  are  increasing  about  the  lakes,  for 
the  practically  enforced  regulations  against  shining 
and  crusting  give  an  opportunity  to  increase,  and  they 


46o  Reminiscences  of 

do  so  slowly  but  surely  when  protected  and  free  from 
wolves,  as  in  this  locality. 

While  I  have  killed  many  in  this  locality,  I  find  that 
their  shooting  is  attended  with  a  great  deal  of  exercise. 
I  may  not  be  a  very  good  hunter,  but  I  find  that  I  have 
to  travel  altogether  nearly  fifty  miles  for  every  deer 
that  I  get. 

It  seems  when  I  start  out  that  I  am  likely  to  get  a 
deer  about  every  time  I  go,  but  I  do  not,  nor  one  in  a 
dozen  times.  But  the  interest  is  unflagging.  The 
pleasure  of  being  out  in  the  forest  compensates  for 
all  exertions,  and  exertion  is  a  pleasure.  The  forest, 
never  tame,  is  always  exhilarating,  and  leads  on  with 
its  varied  attractions.  With  a  good  compass  and  a 
tolerable  knowledge  of  the  localities  about,  it  is  a 
supreme  satisfaction  to  be  alone  for  a  while  and  to  be 
lured  on  by  a  charm  which  is  indescribable  to  those 
who  have   not  experienced  it. 

The  object  which  fascinates  the  mind  is  before  you, 
no  matter  whether  you  accomplish  it  or  not.  It  may 
prove  aimless  as  your  rifle  with  good  opportunity, 
but  little  does  it  count,  for  expectation  is  rampant, 
and  hope  lures  on  to  the  satisfaction  of  wholesome 
fatigue. 

Deer  are  often  seen  about  the  camps  during  the 
close  season,  and  particularly  about  the  ponds.  At 
one  fishing  place,  near  a  lily-pad  gro\\'th  which  I  often 
visit  in  the  summer,  I  frequently  find  several  deer 
about,  and  occasionally  a  doe  with  her  fawn  who  re- 
treat upon  my  near  approach,  but  speedily  return  upon 
my  departure. 

We  often  notice  the  inclination  of  animals  and  birds 
to  frequent  the  immediate  vicinity  of  human  beings, 


A  Sportsman  461 

and  invite  their  companionship,  evincing  a  disposition 
to  be  friendly  if  they  could,  but,  alas,  too  often  com- 
pelled to  pay  the  penalty  of  death  for  their  temerity. 

In  the  later  season  deer  are  doubly  cautious  and 
shy,  and  if  observed  browsing  in  the  woods  appear  to 
be  on  the  closest  guard,  and  steal  off  upon  hearing  the 
slightest  crackling  of  twigs  or  rustling  of  leaves,  and 
generally  before  being  obsen'ed  by  the  sportsman. 
When  lying  down,  they  will  often  rest  until  sighting 
the  intruder,  sometimes  allowing  a  close  approach, 
expecting  possibly  to  be  unobserved,  and  when  rising 
will  immediately  bound  oflf  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  most 
adroitly  take  advantage  of  shielding  trees  or  bushes 
to  cover  the  retreat.  Rarely  they  will  stand  a  moment 
or  so  before  the  sportsman  but  generally  bound  off  in 
the  partially  open  forest,  and  occasionally,  under 
favorable  conditions,  they  are  first  observed.  These 
are  the  opportunities  sought  for  by  the  sportsman, 
and  fortunate  he  is  if  his  shot  is  a  stopping  one; 
for  often,  although  fatally  wounded,  they  will  travel 
for  miles. 

I  have  almost  always  during  my  stay  at  the  lakes  in 
October  and  November  during  the  open  season  taken 
in  one,  and  sometimes  two  (the  latter  being  the  limit 
allowed  sportsmen  in  one  season).  Last  season  I  had 
a  most  aggravating  incident,  when  I  did  not  obtain  a 
single  deer.  I  had  only  one  fair  opportunity  to  shoot 
one,  and  that  recollection  is  by  no  means  satisfactory, 
for  it  was  so  fair  and  open  that  I  could  not  have  wished 
it  better  if  I  would.  The  conditions  were  very  favor- 
able, the  ground  and  leaves  moist,  a  darkish  day,  a 
gentle  breeze,  and  myself  approaching  from  the  lee- 
ward.    I   was  proceeding  at   the  time  down  an  old 


462  Reminiscences  of 

logging  road  which  I  had  been  on  several  times  and 
where  I  had  observed  the  tracks  and  indications  of  a 
very  large  deer.  Proceeding  along  cautiously,  as  was 
my  wont,  looking  at  every  spot  where  I  was  putting 
my  feet,  to  avoid  the  crackling  of  a  twig  or  decayed 
limb,  and  still  looking  ahead,  I  observed,  perfectly 
motionless,  not  ten  rods  ahead  of  me  as  I  turned  an 
angle  of  this  old  road,  one  of  the  largest  bucks,  I  think, 
I  have  ever  seen,  the  one  whose  tracks  I  had  observed. 
He  was  standing  apparently  clear  entirely  from  the 
timber  by  the  side  of  the  road,  broadside  toward  me, 
perfectly  motionless,  with  his  head  and  large  antlers 
slightly  turned  toward  me  and  gazing  upon  me  with 
apparently  the  same  interest  that  I  felt  in  seeing  him. 
Mentally  I  thought  he  was  mine  svirely;  with  the  rifle 
in  my  hand  which  had  brought  down  several  deer 
before  at  single  shots,  and  with  nothing  distracting 
my  view,  nor  troubled  by  buck  fever,  which  I  have 
never  experienced,  but  as  coolly  and  deliberately  as  I 
would  fire  at  a  target  ten  rods  off,  which  was  the  dis- 
tance of  this  buck,  I  brought  carefully  my  rifle  sights 
to  a  level,  and  without  any  haste,  taking  the  most 
deliberate  aim  which  was  afforded  by  the  oppor- 
tunity, I  fired.  I  fired  at  his  body  slightly  back  of  the 
shoulder  blades.  It  was  a  rough  surprise  to  the  buck. 
He  turned,  however,  quickly  taking  his  back  track, 
and  throwing  up  his  signal  flag  of  departure,  which 
indicated  that  he  was  not  hit,  or  at  least  had  not  re- 
ceived any  wound  of  importance,  and  went  off  with 
bounds  too  rapid  for  me,  owing  to  the  then  obstructing 
foliage,  to  get  another  shot.  Astounded  at  my  failure, 
I  started  after  him,  after  having  rapidly  thrown  another 
cartridge  into  the  barrel  of  my  rifle.     I  could  follow 


A  Sportsman  463 

him,  owing  to  the  condition  of  the  leaves,  without 
difficulty,  but  I  found  no  trace  of  blood,  and  saw  that 
he  indicated  no  intimation  of  having  been  wounded. 
I  returned  to  the  spot  where  he  stood  when  I  shot,  and 
there  I  found  to  my  mortification  and  great  annoyance 
a  leafless  maple  sapling  of  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
diameter,  which  I  had  not  obser\'ed  when  I  fired,  and 
at  the  level  corresponding  with  the  place  which  I  shot 
at  the  sapling  was  shattered  and  nearly  cut  oflf  by  my 
rifle  ball  where  its  soft  nose  had  exploded  and  become 
diverted  from  its  passage  in  some  direction  away  from 
the  deer.  This  was  the  result  of  all  my  stalking,  but 
it  could  not  take  away  the  satisfaction — the  daily 
satisfaction — I  had  experienced.  One  must  have  an 
object  for  all  exertions  that  is  sustaining,  and  lends 
vigor  and  enjo}Tnent  to  pursuits,  which  when  aimless 
are  of  slight  value. 

The  last  two  deer  I  shot  I  came  upon  unnoticed. 
They  were  standing  a  moderate  distance  off.  It  seemed 
a  pity  to  shoot  at  them,  so  beautiful  and  innocent  as 
they  appeared.  But  I  did.  One  was  half  broadside 
toward  me,  which  I  shot  through  the  heart,  when  he 
dropped  in  his  tracks,  and  perhaps  was  not  conscious 
of  his  wound.  The  other  was  feeding,  heading  away 
from  me,  and  I  had  to  whistle  for  him  to  turn,  and  as 
he  did,  my  buUet  broke  his  neck.  Last  year,  one  day 
when  I  had  hunted  over  a  ten-mile  tramp  most  care- 
fully carrying  my  rifle  in  front,  ready  for  immediate 
action,  without  seeing  or  hearing  a  deer,  I  approached 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  camp,  when  I  relaxed  my 
careful  walk  and  search,  and  threw  my  rifle  carelessly 
over  my  shoulder.  The  forest  was  thickly  grown,  and 
as  I  passed  a  small  thicket  a  deer  rushedacross  my  path 


464  Reminiscences  of 

within  four  feet  of  me,  so  that  he  aknost  ran  over  me ; 
but  he  appeared  so  suddenly  and  leaped  so  rapidly  into 
the  thick  brush  that  I  was  unable  to  unlimber  in  sea- 
son, scarcely  a  second  passing  between  his  advent  and 
disappearance.  This  deer  had  apparently  been  lying 
down  when  surprised. 

One  of  our  party  had  a  curious  experience  two  or 
three  years  ago  in  this  locality.  He  shot  at  a  buck  a 
considerable  distance  away,  observed  it  to  fall,  and 
when  approaching  discovered  that  in  falling  the  buck 
had  imbedded  its  horns  in  the  groimd  and  at  the  same 
time  had  thrust  the  front  part  of  its  head  beneath 
a  shelving  rock,  from  which  it  was  impossible  to  with- 
draw it,  although  the  buck  was  not  fatally  wounded, 
having  been  struck  in  the  shoulder,  where  the  bullet 
remained,  without  passing  through  or  breaking  the 
bones.  The  struggles  of  the  deer  to  disentangle  him- 
self were  immense,  but  without  avail,  and  his  throat 
was  cut  after  some  difficulty.  The  deer's  head  was  so 
firmly  fastened  beneath  the  rock,  and  so  held  by  its 
horns,  that  after  its  death  it  was  so  difficult  to  remove 
that  it  could  only  be  accomplished  by  digging  out 
the  horns.  That  the  deer  could  never  have  liberated 
itself  was  quite  apparent. 

Several  years  ago,  in  January,  while  coming  up  the 
lake  on  the  ice  to  camp,  we  obsen^ed  something 
about  a  mile  ahead,  which  we  thought  might  be  a 
broken  bough,  as  they  often  blow  out  on  the  ice  when 
it  is  clear.  As  we  came  nearer  we  observ'^ed  it  had 
some  movement,  and  upon  a  near  approach  we  dis- 
cerned it  to  be  a  large  buck,  stranded  by  his  inability 
to  stand  on  the  slippery  ice.  He  made  desperate 
efforts  to  get  on  his  feet  as  we  came  nearer,  but  the 


A  Sportsman  465 

moment  he  got  up  his  legs  would  divide  and  down  he 
would  go.  How  he  got  out  so  far,  at  least  half  a 
mile  from  shore,  was  a  puzzle,  and  indicated  the  great 
tussle  he  must  have  had. 

He  probably  had  stepped  out  at  first  from  the  woods 
on  some  snow  ice,  and  made  a  little  progress  on  the 
lake,  when  his  footing  gave  way,  and  in  his  misguided, 
stniggling  efforts  he  had  worked  away  from  shore 
instead  of  toward  it.  He  was  pretty  thoroughly  ex- 
hausted, although  belligerent  toward  us  still.  His 
efforts  to  get  up  were  incessant,  but  his  legs  would 
divide  in  a  moment,  which  must  have  been  very  un- 
pleasant to  him.  We  concluded  to  give  him  a  new 
start  in  life;  so,  throwing  a  halter  over  his  head,  we 
dragged  him  over  the  ice  with  our  young  and  well  shod 
horse  to  the  shore,  and  then  by  hand  and  other  efforts 
some  twenty  feet  inland.  Even  then  he  seemed  unable 
to  get  on  his  feet,  so  wounded  in  sinews  he  must  have 
been  from  his  battle  on  the  slippery  ice.  We  held  on, 
however,  until  he  got  on  his  legs,  and  saw  him  well  off 
on  his  tottering  limbs,  although  his  progress  was  slow 
and  undoubtedly  agonizing. 

We  observed  one  day  in  front  of  camp  an  animal 
swimming  in  the  water  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
shore.  Manning  a  boat,  we  soon  overtook  it  and 
found  it  was  a  yearling  doe,  which  after  some  exciting 
work,  as  the  deer  was  very  active,  we  succeeded  in 
capturing  alive,  and  brought  it  ashore.  We  confined 
it  in  an  enclosure  and  supplied  it  with  boughs  to  browse 
upon,  and  some  boiled  pototoes  and  oats,  which  it 
fed  from  during  the  first  night,  and  fed  regularly  after, 
until  we  let  it  go  back  to  the  woods.  It  was  very  shy 
at  first,  but  rapidly  became  tame,  and  when  we  let  it 


466  Reminiscences  of 

go  it  seemed  loath  to  leave,  commencing  to  feed  near 
as  soon  as  liberated,  and  allowed  us  to  approach 
closely,  but  gradually  worked  its  way  into  the  forest 
and  finally  disappeared  from  view. 

An  amusing  incident  happened  to  a  friend  of  mine 
who  had  hunted  most  persistently  without  success. 
He  wore  glasses,  without  which  he  could  not  well  see. 
While  passing  through  a  thick  clump  of  tall  bushes 
he  was  astounded  by  a  terrific  snort  from  a  large  buck 
scarcely  five  feet  in  front  of  him,  which,  facing  him,  ac- 
companied his  vmnuisical  ejaculation  with  sufficient 
mouth-watering  to  becloud  my  friend's  glasses  beyond 
use.  He  was  compelled  to  clean  them,  and  when  ready 
for  action  sought  in  vain  for  his  insulting  momentary 
associate,  who  had  made  good  his  retreat.  My  friend 
in  relating  his  experience  said,  "I  met  a  big  buck  to- 
day, but  he  spat  in  my  face,  and  left.  Confound  him, 
I  am  going  after  him  now,  hot." 

A  lady  friend  at  my  camp  a  few  years  ago  who  had 
killed  a  deer  concluded  to  go  out  after  another,  and 
did  so,  with  a  guide  at  a  proper  distance  in  the  rear. 
She  had  gone  but  a  short  distance,  but  proceeding 
with  slow  pace  and  great  care,  when  she  was  suddenly 
confronted  from  a  clump  of  bushes  near,  by  an 
enormous  buck,  which  stepped  out  in  a  leisurely 
manner  and  stood  for  several  seconds  not  ten  feet  off, 
there  they  stood  gazing  in  astonishment  at  each 
other.  Then  with  a  few  graceful  bounds  the  buck 
disappeared  among  the  trees.  Upon  relating  the 
incident  upon  her  return  I  asked,  "But  why  did  you 
not  shoot  him?",  to  which  she  replied,  "I  never  thought 
of  it.  I  wanted  to  see  what  he  would  do" — and  she 
saw. 


A  Sportsman  467 

Deer,  though  often  sought  for  most  dihgently,  may 
be  difficult  to  find,  and  yet  may  be  stumbled  upon  at 
times  quite  readily.  A  few  years  ago  a  friend  of  mine 
lately  arrived  from  England,  went  out  with  me  early  in 
the  morning  on  October  ist,  the  first  day  of  the  open 
season,  and  being  in  advance  of  me,  and  not  more  than 
half  an  hour  after  starting,  shot  and  killed  two  deer 
which  came  with  a  third  nmning  down  upon  him, 
thus  completing  his  quota  for  the  season. 

Now,  completing  my  sporting  reminiscences,  I  have 
in  view  the  writing  of  my  business  experiences. 
These,  hav'ing  been  exceedingly  varied  in  character 
and  extending  over  half  a  century,  will  frankly  exhibit 
the  perils,  with  good  and  bad  fortune,  which  have 
attended  my  ventures,  from  which  now  I  am  fully 
retired. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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OVERDUE. 


I 


FEB  27  1933 

APR    30  1934 
JUN    121934 
DEC    8  1937 


f- 


YD  02590 


281682 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


IHll 


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